Who Actually Won in Iran, as if WE Don’t Already Know the Answer?

The ceasefire between Iran, Israel and the United States has sparked not a sense of resolution, but a renewed debate over how victory in Middle Eastern conflicts should actually be measured.

Naturally the fighting will start again, as soon the price of oil can come down to levels that have the average American not seeing red, and attention can be directed elsewhere. Its just postponing the violence. The Israelis and Americans needed a breather, but are evil enough to try again! For now, there are more negotiations ongoing but Iran is refusing to meet until Israel steps back from Lebanon. I predict difficult negotiations with a potential return to combat after the November midterm elections.

But already the so-called deal appears to have been still born, Netanyahu says Israel won’t withdraw from Lebanon, flouting the U.S.-Iran deal.

However, what definition of victory or peace are we using?

It is not simply a matter of who issued the loudest threats, rattled the most sabers, or inflicted the greatest visible damage. Nor is it a scoreboard of strikes and casualties. As always, achieving peace in the Middle East will be a long process.

Victory is increasingly defined by political endurance — who is still standing when the dust settles. It is about who can absorb pressure without collapsing, who can frame themselves as the innocent party in a messy conflict, and who ultimately emerges with their regional position intact — or even strengthened — in the eyes of neighbours and the rest of the world.

But where to start in peeling back the onion layers of the peace deal?

One old battle axe, who is an insider among insiders, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Americans “paid the price” for President Trump’s “mistake” in taking military action against Iran, describing the U.S.-Iranmemorandum of understanding(MOU) as a “real gift to the Iranians.”

She may have a point, at least looking at it from the perspective of the costs, economic and political, and how it has blown back in the faces of Israel and the United States, by starting something that cannot be finished, and all for the arrogant pride and political survival of two megalomaniac politicians who understand nothing beats a war for clinging onto power and trying to be remembered for something.

However, what that might be is open to never-ending discussion, as both Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu........

© New Eastern Outlook