The futility of war is starkly illustrated by the events in Iran and the Middle East, says Herald columnist Calum Steele

The last thing the world needs, with the ongoing bombing campaign on Iran, is another white middle-aged bloke pontificating about the causes, the effects, and the global strategic consequences of a potential regional, if not global, war. But having already solved the global financial crisis, the political and economic fall-out from Brexit and the Covid pandemic over pints in the pub – the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war on Gaza settled through tactful, measured and meaningful debates on social media – there was a danger the unrivalled expertise we bring to the table on almost every crisis could have been denied to the world.

But here we are, and this is a juicy topic. One ripe for absolute certainty on a subject we know little about and where doubt and nuance can never be admitted or conceded, lest we come across as some lily-livered terrorist-supporting sympathiser or Trump apologist who gets cut out of the messaging groups sharing the memes and jokes which such occasions inevitably demand.

Mercifully, though, the need for our expertise this time may not be called upon at all. We have the reassurance that a man who is renowned for his calm and rational decision-making is at the helm.

Can you imagine the chaos that might follow if this war were being waged by a man who would deploy the military against his own people, who ignores the rule of law, and who is so thin-skinned and riven by self-interest that he requires an army of sycophants around him?

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