The U.S and Iran appear to be pulling back from the brink of war. We give both sides credit for this, and we hope it lasts.
The rhetoric flying in U.S. Congress in the wake of the standoff has been, as is typical, unhelpful.
There has been relative calm after the U.S. killing of Iran’s top military general in Baghdad on Jan. 3 and Iran’s Wednesday missile attack on an Iraqi base that also housed American soldiers.
The situation in Iraq and Iran remains fluid. Tough talk continues from officials in both the United States and Iran. But the cautious circling actions of the two nations suggest that neither wants a third Gulf War, one that analysts predict would be both costly and bloody for the U.S., Iran and Iraq.
After the killing of Qassem Soleimani by drone attack and a large funeral where “death to America” chants were shouted, the world awaited Iran’s response.
That response appeared to be when Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at air bases in Iraq known to house U.S. troops. There were no U.S. or Iraqi casualties. Evidence suggested the Iranians tipped off the Iraqis, who then told the Americans — an outcome the Iranians must have known was likely.
The relatively mild response by Iran flew in the face of media warnings of dire blow-back for the U.S. drone strike.
President Donald Trump, often criticized by his opponents for his lack of deftness in international diplomacy, clearly recognized an exit ramp when he saw one.
The two nations tipping backward from war left space for D.C. politicians to ramp up their negative rhetoric and grandstanding.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through her chamber a new War Powers Resolution that would seek to limit Trump’s hand in actions against Iran. It is unlikely Trump, or any president, would abide by the restriction short of a Supreme Court order to do so. The resolution passed mostly on party lines and faces a shaky future in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Some Republicans accused their Democratic colleagues of supporting Iran over their own country. Rep. Doug Collins, went the furthest, saying Democrats mourned Soleimani’s death more than they mourned for Gold Star families, referring to U.S. families who have lost loved ones in combat. (He later apologized.)
This normal reverting to politicking risks obscuring the fact that we are not out of the woods yet. The situation in Iraq and the Middle East is still fluid — and confusing.
We could be just one or two major incidents from being right back to the brink of a wider conflict. Families of service members can never fully rest easy when there are loved ones in harm’s way.
Excerpted from The Fayetteville Observer, a Gannett publication
