We Wag the Dog with Iran Attack

Over the last year, the one thing I have learned that stands out is this. Two opposing things can be true at the same time, and sometimes one is not bigger than the other.

The fact that Ayatollah Khamenei (the ‘k’ is silent, by the way) died in attacks by America and Israel means that one of the most repressive leaders on earth is gone. I do not mourn that.

At the same time, an unprovoked attack by us is horrifying. Again.

I felt this same duality after our invasion of Iraq, which eventually led to the death of Saddam Hussein. Realizing the Cheney and Bush lies about weapons of mass destruction, and suspecting a son’s desire to vindicate his father after what was seen as humiliation in Iraq, opened my eyes to the inner workings of my country. Workings that had always been hidden from my view. My fault for not seeing them earlier, but I did not.

As a film critic for Screen Thoughts, I am always struck by how film mirrors life. Every story on screen reflects something we have seen before.

The film Wag the Dog comes to mind now. You may remember DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman’s brilliant portrayal of a PR man and Hollywood director who manufacture a fake war to distract from a presidential scandal. I watched it just after my daughter was born and felt uneasy in a way I could not explain. Looking back, I realize I sensed that it was not out of the realm of possibility. I watched it again last night and I think it’s worth the time.

I think DT starting a war serves as a diversionary explosion from what has been heating up around him, including renewed scrutiny of his ties to Epstein, ongoing questions about his financial dealings, multiple legal exposures, and the broader pattern of alleged misconduct that continues to shadow him. Just because the conflict is an enormous diversion does not mean the media should stop pursuing accountability for the Epstein crimes or any others.

I’ll say it again. Distraction works only if we allow the spectacle to eclipse the unresolved.

More importantly, just because the conflict is an enormous diversion does not mean the media should stop pursuing accountability for the Epstein crimes or any others. Distraction works only if we allow the spectacle to eclipse the unresolved.

I don’t like the word just unless it’s about justice. “Just one for dinner tonight,” irks me no end. “I’m just someone’s mother?” Don’t get me started.

But it’s the word that keeps coming to me today.

Just because we can does not mean we have any right to attack other countries.

Just because Congress did not sanction this war does not mean they are not responsible for it happening. Trump and his lackeys had no fear that there would be a repercussion for an action that is totally illegal. It should have already happened. Congress should be in session as we sleep.

Just because we are committing war crimes, there’s some good maybe just maybe could come out of the crimes we are committing.

Former intelligence officials have long warned (a report a few weeks ago) that assassinating the Ayatollah would create a vacuum that is even more dangerous. The concern is that once a central figure is gone, decision making often shifts to a more diffuse military structure that may feel less constrained by political calculation or international optics. In that environment, retaliation can become less measured and more ideological, driven by institutional momentum rather than strategic restraint. The result is that actions taken in the name of deterrence can instead unleash forces that operate with fewer human considerations, escalating conflict rather than containing it.

Our task as Americans now is to personally, one by one, inch by inch, support the brave Iranians who will have to step up now, without any planning or warning. We have seen the on the streets over the last few years protesting at great personal risk to ensure that the strong arm of the military does not make us wish Khamenei was back on planet earth. Their task now is enormous.

Back to my ‘just’ sentences over the last twenty-four hours.

Just because American Jews are terrified of historical context and believe that Israel is the only safety valve that will keep them safe in the future does not mean that everything Israel does is justified, and if anything, in my opinion, it keeps individual Jewish humans less safe in the world at large.

Just because this is an enormous diversionary explosion does not mean the media should stop pursuing accountability for the Epstein crimes. Two things can happen at once.

Just because we might not know anyone affected in Iran personally does not mean that it is not personal. We have to open up our minds enough to look at the individual stories coming out to make it personal. If anything, it should be personal.

The world is more complicated than it’s ever been. My brain is weary daily from the enormous amount of micro information plots that I seem to feel the need to put in front of it. Too much information is not a joke.

We are carrying a heavy load as history unfolds for the next generation right now. We don’t have to do it all, but we don’t get to do nothing just because there are so many things happening. That is the fear and that is their hope, those enemies around us, that we will do nothing because we will be too busy watching everything.

The people of Iran? I offer my apology and my assistance. Give me the list of what you need, and I will do it.