In a compelling analysis, Mouin Rabbani, a leading expert on the Middle East, has meticulously dissected the ongoing crisis, exposing the profound delusions and strategic blunders emanating from the Trump White House and its Zionist ally. Rabbani, a senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and editor at Jadaliyya, offers an indispensable perspective, particularly in light of his forthcoming book, Gaza Apocalypse: A Genocide Diary.
Unmasking Trump’s Delusions and US Weakness
Rabbani sharply critiques the irrationality of the current US administration, citing a ludicrous statement from Donald Trump’s Truth Social feed. Trump’s claim of brokering a 10-day ‘CEASEFIRE’ between Lebanon and Israel, after a supposed 34-year hiatus, is not only factually incorrect but a testament to the White House’s utter disconnect from reality. Rabbani highlights the inherent contradiction and lack of clear objectives within US foreign policy, making rational analysis impossible.
He recalls the earlier Pakistani announcement of a US-Iran ceasefire, which explicitly included Lebanon. Yet, the Zionist entity immediately rejected this, launching a brutal aerial massacre in Beirut – the most intense bombing since its 1982 invasion. This blatant disregard for international agreements and human life underscores the aggressive nature of the Zionist regime, often enabled by Washington.
The US-Zionist Dynamic: A Master-Proxy Relationship
Addressing the contentious debate on who controls whom, Rabbani firmly asserts, "Israel is a gangster state because the United States runs the crime syndicate. Without Washington, Israel is nothing." He illustrates this by pointing to Washington’s directive for a ceasefire with Lebanon, which the Zionist prime minister, despite electoral pressures, had no choice but to accept. This incident, among others since late 2023, unequivocally demonstrates the Zionist entity’s profound military, political, and diplomatic dependence on the United States.
While acknowledging the Zionist lobby’s significant influence in Washington, Rabbani emphasizes that "tails don’t wag dogs, dogs wag tails." He argues that the Zionist entity exploited Trump’s "extraordinarily vacuous, ignorant" nature to push for a war with Iran, a long-sought objective that previous administrations had resisted. The disastrous war plan, based on fantastical promises of a 72-96 hour decisive victory, was rubber-stamped by a White House filled with ‘yes men and women,’ despite internal skepticism.
Zionism as a Totalitarian Movement: Suppressing Dissent
Rabbani powerfully describes Zionism today as an "indisputably, a totalitarian movement." He exposes its global campaign to defame, delegitimize, and demonize anyone, regardless of background, who dares to criticize the Zionist entity. This includes firing elementary school teachers, launching full-scale assaults on academia, and enacting laws that criminalize criticism of Israel – a stark contrast to the greater tolerance for criticism of the US government itself.
He highlights the alarming trend of adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which deliberately conflates anti-Jewish bigotry with legitimate criticism of Zionist policies, such as calling Israel racist or comparing its actions to Nazi Germany. This definition, disavowed even by its formulator, is being weaponized to silence dissent and justify extreme repression, including attempts at deportation and denaturalization for critics.
A Turning Tide: Public Opinion Shifts Against Zionism
Despite the intense repression, Rabbani observes a significant and irreversible transformation in public opinion. He notes the shocking shift where rejecting AIPAC, once a political prerequisite, is now a badge of honor for mainstream Democratic candidates. This signals that the Zionist lobby has lost the public square, prompting an intensification of its totalitarian campaign to stifle debate.
While political change lags behind public opinion, especially in a plutocracy, Rabbani sees encouraging signs, such as increased efforts in Congress to halt arms transfers to the Zionist entity. He asserts that this is an irreversible trend, provided sustained efforts continue.
Washington’s Suez Moment: The Decline of Imperial Power
Rabbani characterizes the current situation as "Washington’s Suez moment," where the US, in launching a war to consolidate global power, has instead exposed the limits of its capabilities. Future historians, he believes, will mark this as the definitive beginning of US imperial decline. Similarly, the Zionist entity, which sought to confirm its unchallenged regional hegemony through the war against Iran, has instead confronted the clear limits of its power projection.
He exposes the Trump administration’s propaganda of "winning" despite the war being in its "death throes." The initial US demands for Iranian regime change, total surrender, and dismantling of its nuclear program have been abandoned. Instead, the US is now desperately focused on securing navigation of the Strait of Hormuz – an issue that only became critical *after* its disastrous war, demonstrating a forced shift from original objectives to managing catastrophic consequences.
Iran, Rabbani notes, has strategically gained unprecedented control over the Strait of Hormuz, acquiring a leverage more significant than even a nuclear arsenal. Trump’s desperate, genocidal threats to "destroy your whole civilization" were a desperate attempt to mask US weakness and failure, made just hours before a pre-agreed ceasefire was announced, falsely portraying it as a result of his intimidation.
The Moral Abyss: Unprovoked Aggression and War Crimes
Rabbani unequivocally condemns the war as an "indisputably an unprovoked war of aggression," echoing the supreme crime tried at Nuremberg. He highlights the horrifying normalization of atrocities seen in Gaza, now extended to Iran and Lebanon, including the massacre of schoolchildren and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The open discussion in US and Zionist media about assassinating negotiators and diplomats reveals a profound moral depravity, a "war against the very concept of values itself."
The brazenness of such threats, exemplified by a Washington Post columnist explicitly outlining a plan to kill Iranian negotiators or the Zionist entity publicly boasting about Mossad threats to murder entire families, underscores a world where war crimes are not only tolerated but celebrated. This moral decay, Rabbani concludes, is a direct outgrowth of what was permitted and even encouraged in the Gaza Strip.
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