Over the course of the last week, I heard Tel Aviv was getting “pummeled.”
Turns out that was not exactly true – go figure.
The city was forced into bomb shelters June 7 during a major flare-up, but Israel’s aerial defense networks intercepted much of the incoming fire. No deaths were reported and the incident was blamed on Iran breaking a two-month ceasefire and launching a heavy barrage of ballistic missiles toward Israel. The launch was said to be in retaliation for an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut.
The next day the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen also claimed to fire a ballistic missile salvo toward Tel Aviv – those intercepted too.
So is all quiet on the Israeli front, I suppose.
Could it be because President Trump stepped in to save the day?
Or could it be that Sunday, June 14 a peace deal was abruptly struck with Trump and Pakistani mediators announcing the U.S. and Iran reached a comprehensive deal to end the war.
Israel was not invited to the party.
The U.S. and Iran have apparently declared an immediate, permanent termination of all military operations across all fronts and the U.S. is lifting its naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
There will be a signing ceremony in Switzerland.
Trump announced Sunday night the deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran “is now complete.”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi also confirmed the finalization of the deal on Iranian state television.
This is good news – since prior to this secret deal there had been rumors that the US was sending ground troops as the war continued.
Even now there is a massive U.S. presence of over 50,000 troops in that region since the conflict with Iran began.
As for the ground troops, there was reportedly a “Secret Plan” in which the U.S. military had rushed to prepare a high-risk, “invasion-style” ground mission with hundreds of special operations personnel to infiltrate Iran and seize its enriched uranium stockpiles.
Does anyone feel like we are playing a high stakes game of “Battleship?”
After that secret plan was discussed, it was then revealed Trump paused the mission due to extreme risks, which is a no brainer (and the fact the American people are ready to vomit if we have to keep dealing with this mess).
There had also been plans to send ground troops to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export hub, which have also been shelved with Sunday’s peace deal.
The terms of the deal include all military operations on all fronts, including linked conflicts in Lebanon, are permanently terminated, the U.S. is lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports, and Iran is reopening the Strait of Hormuz on June 19 to allow global oil traffic to resume after mine clearance.
The one big question mark is the 60-day nuclear window since Iran’s nuclear enrichment program still is not resolved, but negotiations will continue to dismantle Iran’s nuclear stockpiles in exchange for permanent sanctions relief.
One might ask did this peace agreement get moved to the forefront since the four Republicans; Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, and Warren Davidson of Ohio broke rank and voted with Democrats for the War Powers Resolution a few weeks ago resulting in it passing in a 215–208 vote?
Word is that was not the reason Trump managed this peace deal – but let’s face it, the four Republicans did heavily accelerate the pressure on his administration to find an immediate off-ramp.
Trump did get his words in edgewise and called the four GOP lawmakers “grandstanders.”
The Trump administration was still saying the 1973 War Powers Act is 100% unconstitutional up until the day of the peace deal. To that end the resolution was heading to the Senate and lacked a veto-proof supermajority, so it would not have been weighty enough to stop any immediate military shutdowns.
What the vote did destroy was the illusion of bipartisan war support. I guess even with Israel demanding help, the Democrats were having none of it.
Either way, we are not done with the Israel military yet since, if you read my column two weeks ago, our government has a better plan to integrate the US and Israeli militaries in the first step towards shifting aid further into the shadows with the House’s 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, section 224, entitled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.”
An even bigger gift than the “more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the U.S. since its founding in 1948.
But that is another story and another fight to be fought later.
The War Powers Resolution vote was the first since the war began on Feb. 28 that the Republican-led House handed Trump a bipartisan foreign policy defeat.
There was also the procedural defection by Senate Republicans in May with a vote to the White House that congressional patience for an unauthorized, $100 billion conflict was completely exhausted.
And so, as the peace agreement means the end of this “war” (never officially called a war) is it fair for Americans to now ask the question “what was the means to the end?”
Strategically this question offers mixed results at best.
At the end of the day, what stands out to me is the colossal financial and military cost and was it worth the outcome?
Talking heads will say the U.S. prevented the destruction of Israel with American assets acting as a shield intercepting hundreds of incoming Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
There is also the fact that Tehran is now at the negotiating table concerning its nuclear program.
The U.S. resisted launching a full-scale ground invasion or seizing Iranian territory and the conflict is now over in under 100 days.
That still leaves people asking why?
For example, the war that was not a war failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on terms other than Iran’s terms since the U.S. did have to lift its aggressive naval blockade on Iranian ports to get Tehran to stop mining the Strait.
And while the peace deal enforces a ceasefire, it leaves Iran’s massive network of regional proxies – including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen – entirely intact and heavily armed.
The ceasefire, which I think is positive on many levels, makes me wonder if the temporary framework regarding the nuclear issue is just that since if the 60-day negotiations fail to produce a permanent treaty, what happens then?
Domestically, America now has a hefty $100 billion bill for the three-month rapid military deployments, munitions, and operational costs conflict that taxpayers will have to pay.
The war also fractured the Republican majority in Congress, evaluated the limits of executive war powers, and triggered widespread anti-war sentiment across the domestic political landscape.
And if you are wondering how Israel is handling this, not so well.
One source said the official reaction is a mix of “deep strategic alarm, public distancing, and fierce political backlash, with officials openly warning that the pact fails to secure Israel’s long-term safety.”
Word is the secret U.S.-Iran talks was completely kept from Israel and to that end Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel is not a party to the agreement” however, he has not criticized Trump.
And so, the drama continues as one might ask, is this permanent or temporary depending on the strength of AIPAC and its government influence and depending on lawmakers realizing Americans have about had enough.
Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.