When US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke of causing “death and destruction from the sky all day long” in Iran, it was not simply an aggressive summons to havoc or an apocalyptic prophecy. Intentionally or not, it was a reminder of the utter global moral void of this moment.

All wars are terrible. But this Israel-US-Iran war, perhaps more than most, seems to have been unleashed with the sole objective of perpetuating its own fury. This war exists to achieve no aim. It is not a war to conquer or liberate. Even granting it the purpose of weakening Iran is granting it too much dignity. Its real aim is simply the continuation of its own violence. The war is about performance: An expression of power rather than an instrument for rational purposes. If it has a purpose, it is only this: To test the next generation of technology — missiles, AI, targeting systems, cyber warfare.

That is why the questions we are asking about this war miss the point. Did we learn the lessons of Iraq? Was there a plan for the day after? Why does the stated objective keep shifting: Is it denuclearisation, regime change, or the break-up of Iran? What can air power alone achieve? Did you anticipate that Iran would climb the escalatory ladder and try to impose severe economic costs on its neighbours?

These questions presume that the war has coherent purposes. But the modus operandi of the Trump administration has been the nihilistic display of power and spectacle, shifting from one theatre to another. It will break every international law imaginable and flout hard-won........

© Indian Express