Trump needs to reject Netanyahu’s quest for a forever war | Kenneth Roth
Mar 18, 2026
Instead of regime change, all the bombing has produced so far is regime reinforcement and no end in sightWith the US-Israeli bombing of Iran now in its third week, its costs are mounting, its purpose is increasingly muddled and potential off-ramps have become frustratingly elusive. Yet rather than s
uccumb to despair, we should urgently press for this destructive war to end.Iran never engaged in an actual or imminent attack that would justify a war of self-defense. The best that Donald Trump could muster was an argument of prevention – that Iran’s missile program and capacity to disrupt the Middle East must be curtailed, along with its ability to build a nuclear weapon. But the UN charter does not permit armed attacks for mere preventive purposes; that would open the door to endless armed conflicts. And even by the standard of Trump’s inadequate justification for war, his bombing has been a fiasco. Continue reading...
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