Jun 22, 2025

Bulletin 362: Initial comment on the new U.S. war

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Ukraine war updates, analysis.

Previously: Bulletin 361: Please call or write your senators and congresspersons immediately, asking them to support the bipartisan War Powers Resolution to prohibit direct U.S. involvement in the attack on Iran (06/17/2025)

Dear friends and colleagues --

We trust you are aware that last night the U.S. bombed three nuclear sites in Iran. There was another press conference this morning about this "bold, brilliant" attack ("Operation Midnight Hammer"). Don't be deceived: this attack had nothing to do with uranium enrichment, except as an excuse.

TASS asked us for an initial comment last night, which we provided. Here is a somewhat longer version of the same comment, which interested on-line readers of the Santa Fe New Mexican will see or have already seen this morning:

This sad and terrible news fills many of us with deep frustration and shame for what our country has become -- a worldwide bully unable to follow its own Constitution, or international law. Launching an illegal war of aggression in violation of the UN Charter and the Nuremberg Principles, on top of supporting Israel's genocide, with no causus belli whatsoever, is a complete inversion of morality and legality. As such it augurs the further decline of our country.

I'm afraid there will be hell to pay for this, in this country.

Trump has probably lost the support of a significant part of his voting base. Up to now at least, recent polls show that attacking Iran directly was not a popular action.

Those who have not yet opposed the proxy war in Ukraine or the genocide in Palestine now need to reflect on the fruit of that silence. That silence has emboldened the dark forces that manipulated the narcissist Trump, pushing aside the voices of reason and humanity in favor of raw force.

This attack is a sign of weakness, not strength.

This attack was not about anything "nuclear." This is about regime change and the re-making of the Middle East -- and beyond that, the control of Asia as a whole.

The future of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is now dark. The country -- Iran -- which was following every rule under that Treaty is labeled "terrorist" and aggressor and has now been bombed. This directly violates that Treaty as well as the UN Charter. Meanwhile the country which clandestinely developed nuclear weapons, never joining the Treaty and which is meanwhile annihilating hundreds of thousands of people in its bloodlust and quest for greater Lebensraum -- namely Israel -- is treated like some kind of victim, and partner.

The NPT is a cornerstone of the "rules based international order" touted by the United States and the West in general. What is its future now?

Trump hopes this war is now over. This is what the U.S. always hopes about the stupid, brutal wars it starts. Has the U.S. ever won a war, since being one of the victors in World War II? It has not, and will not in this case, not in the long run. Trump says he wants peace now -- the peace of victory and submission of an enemy we didn't have yesterday. I very much doubt real peace is in the cards.

If you wonder why the future isn't what it used to be, look at the trillions of dollars the U.S. has poured into war and nuclear weapons since the beginning of the Cold War. Look at the trillion and more dollars Trump proposes to spend next year on the military. Look at the plutonium bomb factory slowly being built a few miles from Santa Fe, for no other reason than greed and expansion of the nuclear arsenal, to give future presidents more nuclear options as I heard in Washington last week.

Trump needs to be impeached for this, but in general don't look to our current crop of corrupt Democrats for help.

Alas too many of us have "amused ourselves to death" (Neal Postman). Brave New World was supposed to be a warning, not an operating manual, so it is quite difficult to foster a critical mass of resistance. This is by design. With all sobriety and seriousness, we need to work together and work to re-develop the moral courage and solidarity we need to build a decent and humane future. More money is not the answer. Courage, compassion, and clear-eyed attention are needed.

In a little while, Trish and I will head to an emergency demonstration organized by the ANSWER Coalition and Stop the War Machine here in Albuquerque. It's going to be at noon at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, on Eubank across from Costco. Join us if you can.

Wherever you are, we urge you to do what you can to inject anti-war perspectives into the news media and into our civic institutions of all kinds, and to meet with your friends and colleagues to strategize in in your own circumstances.

You can see the ANSWER Coalition's initial list of demonstrations here.

Demonstrations are a good thing, but they are by no means enough. Foreign policy is not particularly sensitive to public opinion (sorry). That said, getting the media involved is of course important, and demonstrations certainly helpful in that regard.

Wiser heads may eventually prevail in the Executive Branch, but we can't count on that. Eventually, we are all dead.

Congress can stop this war, which is very likely to escalate, because Trump needs Congress to pass his budget and reconciliation bill just for starters. Courts will be reluctant to restrain the military.

To get the attention of enough people in Congress, or the right people, requires organization on the part of those who don't want more war, which is presumably all or nearly all of us on this list.

To politically strike at the war machine, we've got to actually do so, not just talk about it or hold certain opinions. Mostly, this boils down to finding ways to take away some of its money -- its lifeblood. There has to be political pain -- and economic pain for those involved.

For starters, that means killing the "Big Beautiful Bill," which is where the big military spending increases lie this year. That bill richly deserves to die for many other reasons as well. As far as I know all the Democrats in Congress oppose this bill. Right now, in the real world and not the more ideal world we wish we had, we need to strengthen the number and determination of anti-war, fiscally-conservative, Republican members of Congress. We don't have to agree about everything.

Greg Mello, for the Study Group