CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The New York Times on War: The Art of Being Obtuse

Madeleine Albright with NATO officers. Photo: Basilio C., Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

“Future presidents will remember, in short, that the (Iran) war was counterproductive on its own terms and came at the expense of every other foreign and domestic priority.  They are also less likely to be taken in by those who cheered this misadventure.  Going forward, their promises of cost-free coercion will sound like what they are: a drumbeat for war.” – Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim, “The Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America,” New York Times, June 25 “As the war in Iran appears to come to a fragile close, Americans are left to wonder why it has accomplished so little.  How could a middle power like Iran…face down a global superpower….  Put simply: Because the United States attempted to essentially go it alone.” – Oona A. Hathaway, “You Can’t Be a Superpower Without Allies,” New York Times, June 21, 2026

“Future presidents will remember, in short, that the (Iran) war was counterproductive on its own terms and came at the expense of every other foreign and domestic priority.  They are also less likely to be taken in by those who cheered this misadventure.  Going forward, their promises of cost-free coercion will sound like what they are: a drumbeat for war.”

– Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim, “The Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for........

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