On Easter Sunday, Trump warned that a 'whole civilisation will die tonight' if Iran refused his latest demands.
On his own Truth Social soapbox, Trump wrote:
'There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.'
The U.S. would destroy all 'bridges and power plants' and 'bomb Iran back to the Stone Age', said the man with sole control over the nuclear codes.
Though the White House has since officially denied nuclear weapons would be employed, even Press Secretary Leavitt conceded:
“Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.”
Bombing civilian infrastructure, with or without nuclear armaments, is a war crime.
Iran, faced with the bullying demands of a crazed war monger with his fingers hovering over the nuclear codes, has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz in return for a two-week suspension of hostilities by the United States.
Prime Minister Albanese, meanwhile, has described Trump’s latest threats as “extraordinary”. But apparently, they are not extraordinary enough for Australia to withdraw troops from an illegal war. Or exit AUKUS. Or take any independent action whatsoever against a war criminal.
The path to madness. Trump Land.
Let's examine the "extraordinary" events since this war began.
1. IRAN THE AGGRESSOR?
Listening to the mainstream media dutifully regurgitating American and Israeli talking points, you might think you misapprehended the initial circumstances and that Iran launched the first strike on Israel and/or America. And, that since then, it has launched belligerent attacks on its near neighbours, unprovoked, and has closed down the world’s petrol supply through the Straits of Hormuz.
But you are not that stupid.
No, the truth is, while Iran was negotiating a deal to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities, entirely unprovoked, America and Israel launched a sneak attack on Tehran, which assassinated Iran’s leadership, Supreme Leader, and 168 Iranians, including over 100 school children.
Israel and the U.S. calculatedly and deceptively started this war, and committed an alleged war crime under the Geneva Convention by doing so.
Shameful.
2. IRAN CLOSE TO DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WEAPONS?
Based on the U.S. and Israeli spokespersons, you might think the reason for these strikes was that Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons, thereby endangering the security of the Middle East and defying the UN IAEA inspection protocols.
Wrong.
Israel is the only nation in the Middle East with nuclear weapons. Israel, not Iran, defies UN inspections. No one knows how many bombs it has.
Iran has no nuclear weapons. But it is classified as the greatest threat in our cognitively dissonant world these days.
Wow.
3. IRAN THE GREATEST SOURCE OF TERRORISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
You would be forgiven for thinking, largely because the pundits repeat the talking points over and over again, that Iran is a rogue, terrorist state.
This is demonstrably false.
The U.S. and, especially, Israel, with its ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, are by far the greatest sources of terror in the Middle East and, with the possible exception of Russia, in the world.
Indeed, the U.S., disliking Iran’s progressive government, in 1953, staged a coup in Tehran, installing a King or Shah. (So much for the U.S. being a republic.)
This venal and corrupt U.S. puppet was deposed in a subsequent coup by the people of Iran in 1979, by a hard-line theocracy. Talk about backfiring spectacularly. This fiasco is why Iranians (and others) chant “Death to America”.
Nevertheless, Iran has never threatened its neighbours unprovoked – not Iran, not Iraq – it has merely defended itself against aggression. The U.S. and Israel, however… are you kidding?
4. ISRAEL THE ONLY DEMOCRATIC STATE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
Israel is an apartheid state, which has a besieged colonial enclave and even in its nation proper, employs different rules for Palestinian Israelis (called Arabs in the system, about 20 per cent of the total population) than for the Jewish majority.
It has just passed laws to summarily hang, within 60 days of sentencing, without any recourse to appeal, lawful Palestinian combatants – what Israel calls “terrorists” – again a flagrant war crime.
5. IN AUSTRALIA, YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO OFFEND ISRAEL
…Or you’ll end up in gaol.
In Queensland, weirdly, saying “from the river to the sea”, a famous song lyric from one of Australia’s most famous vocalists, John Farnham, has been banned.
In NSW, displaying a watermelon – a watermelon – in some way, such as a design on a t-shirt, a necklace medallion, even a car sticker, is likely to get you roughed up and possibly bashed by police, under orders from Israel tour group beneficiary, Chris Minns. Minns by name, midget by nature.
Now, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Trump's threats of complete annihilation against Iran are extraordinary indeed. Trump Land is an extraordinary path to madness, which Australia must resist.
David Donovan is the founder of Independent Australia and former vice chair of the Australian Republican Movement. Follow Dave on X/Twitter @davrosz and Bluesky @davrosz.bsky.social.
Follow Independent Australia on Bluesky @independentaus.bsky.social, X/Twitter @independentaus and Facebook HERE.
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