The Iran War Is Spurring Global Anger at America
Is this competence or optics?
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World
/ March 13, 2026
The Iran War Is Spurring Global Anger at America
Trump’s reckless and unnecessary conflict is hurting allies as well as foes.
Jeet Heer
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Donald Trump leaves after speaking to reporters during a news conference at Trump National Doral Miami on March 9, 2026, in Doral, Florida.
(Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images)
In 1968, Henry Kissinger, then on the cusp of his tenure as the most powerful foreign policy figure in the Nixon and Ford administrations, quipped that “it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” Kissinger’s remarks were much quoted on social media this week as the new war launched by Donald Trump against Iran once again demonstrated that US imperialism has a way of devastating allies as well as foes. The brunt of suffering caused by the war is not restricted to the main actors—the United States, Israel and Iran—but extends across the region and indeed the world. Thousands have been killed and injured, mainly in Iran and Lebanon (now suffering an Israeli invasion), but also in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which are suffering for their fealty to the US.
Beyond the regional human cost, the war is also upending the global economy by sending oil and gas prices spiralling. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the war has been “a stunning punch to a worldwide economy that has already been walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine and President Trump’s chaotic policymaking.” As a result of the war, the world could likely see higher inflation, higher interest rates, and possibly even a rise in hunger, since fertilizer costs are surging.
Culpability for this disaster lies squarely with the Trump and Netanyahu governments, which launched a war of choice against an enemy that presented no imminent threat. Even after nearly two weeks of conflict, Trump has still failed to offer any convincing justification or even a plausible goal for his attack. And the rest of his administration appears to have been just as reckless; on Thursday, CNN reported that the US didn’t even have a plan for what was always one of the most likely outcomes of a war:
The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation….
President Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.
This is a breathtaking lack of …
Is this competence or optics?
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Current Issue
World
/ March 13, 2026
The Iran War Is Spurring Global Anger at America
Trump’s reckless and unnecessary conflict is hurting allies as well as foes.
Jeet Heer
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Donald Trump leaves after speaking to reporters during a news conference at Trump National Doral Miami on March 9, 2026, in Doral, Florida.
(Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images)
In 1968, Henry Kissinger, then on the cusp of his tenure as the most powerful foreign policy figure in the Nixon and Ford administrations, quipped that “it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” Kissinger’s remarks were much quoted on social media this week as the new war launched by Donald Trump against Iran once again demonstrated that US imperialism has a way of devastating allies as well as foes. The brunt of suffering caused by the war is not restricted to the main actors—the United States, Israel and Iran—but extends across the region and indeed the world. Thousands have been killed and injured, mainly in Iran and Lebanon (now suffering an Israeli invasion), but also in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which are suffering for their fealty to the US.
Beyond the regional human cost, the war is also upending the global economy by sending oil and gas prices spiralling. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the war has been “a stunning punch to a worldwide economy that has already been walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine and President Trump’s chaotic policymaking.” As a result of the war, the world could likely see higher inflation, higher interest rates, and possibly even a rise in hunger, since fertilizer costs are surging.
Culpability for this disaster lies squarely with the Trump and Netanyahu governments, which launched a war of choice against an enemy that presented no imminent threat. Even after nearly two weeks of conflict, Trump has still failed to offer any convincing justification or even a plausible goal for his attack. And the rest of his administration appears to have been just as reckless; on Thursday, CNN reported that the US didn’t even have a plan for what was always one of the most likely outcomes of a war:
The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation….
President Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.
This is a breathtaking lack of …
The Iran War Is Spurring Global Anger at America
Is this competence or optics?
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Current Issue
World
/ March 13, 2026
The Iran War Is Spurring Global Anger at America
Trump’s reckless and unnecessary conflict is hurting allies as well as foes.
Jeet Heer
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Donald Trump leaves after speaking to reporters during a news conference at Trump National Doral Miami on March 9, 2026, in Doral, Florida.
(Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images)
In 1968, Henry Kissinger, then on the cusp of his tenure as the most powerful foreign policy figure in the Nixon and Ford administrations, quipped that “it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” Kissinger’s remarks were much quoted on social media this week as the new war launched by Donald Trump against Iran once again demonstrated that US imperialism has a way of devastating allies as well as foes. The brunt of suffering caused by the war is not restricted to the main actors—the United States, Israel and Iran—but extends across the region and indeed the world. Thousands have been killed and injured, mainly in Iran and Lebanon (now suffering an Israeli invasion), but also in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which are suffering for their fealty to the US.
Beyond the regional human cost, the war is also upending the global economy by sending oil and gas prices spiralling. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the war has been “a stunning punch to a worldwide economy that has already been walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine and President Trump’s chaotic policymaking.” As a result of the war, the world could likely see higher inflation, higher interest rates, and possibly even a rise in hunger, since fertilizer costs are surging.
Culpability for this disaster lies squarely with the Trump and Netanyahu governments, which launched a war of choice against an enemy that presented no imminent threat. Even after nearly two weeks of conflict, Trump has still failed to offer any convincing justification or even a plausible goal for his attack. And the rest of his administration appears to have been just as reckless; on Thursday, CNN reported that the US didn’t even have a plan for what was always one of the most likely outcomes of a war:
The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation….
President Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.
This is a breathtaking lack of …
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