The ‘threat’ of war is a false option

Supporters of making a nuclear deal — and more — with Iran frequently tell us that if there is no deal, there is likely to be war. The most recent example is Ben Rhodes on Tuesday night. The same is said about the “diplomatic solution” to Russian attacks against Ukraine.

Don’t these people read the newspapers? Don’t they see that the war is raging, right now?

It’s raging all over the world.

{mosads}You could hardly ask for more in the Middle East (although you’ll probably get it), what with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) slaughtering recalcitrant Muslims who refuse to kneel to Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; plus Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fighting anti-Assad forces in Syria and Iraq, and moving toward the Golan Heights in preparation for jihad against Israel; and the Libyan/Egyptian battle.

In case anybody missed the Iranians’ ultimate target, the Iranians staged a Hollywood-style practice assault on a model of an American aircraft carrier in the Straits of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for oil traffic from the oil producers in the Persian Gulf to the West.

In Europe, Russian troops and proxies are relentlessly occupying ever-larger territory in Ukraine. It’s a real shooting war, complete with tanks, special forces and considerable air power.

Then there’s Africa, from the depredations of Boko Haram (long supported by Tehran), to the simmering flames of radical Islamists in Mali. You can be sure there will be other “unexpected” fighting on the dark continent.

Latin America is also preparing for war. As Bill Gertz tells us:

Russia agreed to provide military training for three leftist regimes in Latin America and increase military visits and exercises following a visit last week to the region by Moscow’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, Pentagon officials said.

Shoygu met with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. It is not clear whether any new arms deals were completed during the visit.

Defense officials said the Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

Please don’t tell me that all this activity hinges on whether or not Congress okays the nuclear deal the Obama administration is trying to work out with Iran, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. All this fighting, and preparation for still more (the North Koreans are preparing for military exercises), is part of a global campaign against us. We have to defeat this campaign, lest our several enemies defeat us.

The outcome of the Iran negotiations will not determine whether we win or lose, any more than the outcome of any of the small battles — Ukraine, Syria, Nigeria, Iraq — will be decisive. Bottom line: It is false and misleading to claim that war may break out if we don’t get a successful negotiation. War is on. Now.

Ledeen, the author of more than 30 books, is the Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He was special adviser to former Secretary of State Alexander Haig and a consultant to the national security adviser during the Reagan administration.