Once again a lie to make war.

By derimot*no-Jan Christensen-June 28, 2025

The war in the Middle East is exposing the leading politicians and media of the West. Although they outwardly hope for a negotiated solution, they are closing ranks behind Israel and the United States. Or Little Satan and Great Satan as they were called when I visited Iran 20 years ago.  Are politicians and the media incapable of learning?

Little and Big Satan

• President Trump applauds Israel bombing Iran and killing senior Iranians. At the same time, he demands that Iran capitulate.
• German Prime Minister Merz says we should thank Israel for doing a crappy job of destroying Iran. 
• British Prime Minister Starmer states that the US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities was necessary.
• France's Macron says the bombing was not "illegal." He fears Iranian nuclear weapons but is not worried about Israel's.
   

The eternal mantra  is that Israel has the right to defend itself against both Palestinians and hostile neighboring states. Israel is almost pressured to act as it does, we learn. With full backing from the powerful US Israel lobby and pro-Israel presidents in the White House, few will object.

Here as with  the EU, Norway is the dream partner. Over the years, we have been an important supporter of both Israel and the US. Allegiance is sworn through trade, investment, intelligence cooperation, technology and propaganda. We participate in wars and exercises that have nothing to do with the defense of Norway, but instead increase international tension. We are drawn into wars that the Norwegian people do not want and that few of our politicians understand.

Before the US  war on Iraq in 2003, we were told that the country had weapons of mass destruction that could destroy the West in a matter of hours. Now, "peace president" Trump is telling us that Iran would soon have nuclear weapons if three of its nuclear facilities had not been bombed.

The threat has now been averted through "a spectacular military success that completely destroyed the country's nuclear capability." The US Secretary of Defense, Norwegian-born Hegseth, is full of admiration. Trump is praised for having shown courage and tactical insight, and asks the world to listen when Trump speaks. 

There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq  . It was an American-made lie with the assistance of exiled Iraqis.
Israel's and the US's war of aggression against Iran is based on similar lies. Independent experts claim that Iran is years away from making nuclear weapons. The US's own intelligence service says the same. That is why Iran also welcomed international inspectors even though Trump, during his previous presidency, violated the nuclear arms agreement.

During Trump's current presidency, Iran and the United States were negotiating a new deal. Before the negotiations were finalized, he gave Israel the green light to go to war. Iran was caught off guard, as was the entire Arab world when Israel launched the Six-Day War in 1967. 

America's Trump is god , cowboy and bluffer at the same time. The right of the strongest. War for peace. Farewell to international law and rules that do not fit. Through fraud, deceit and broken promises, his predecessors stole more and more land from their indigenous Indian population. Today the same recipe is being tried on the rest of the world.

Nations that do not want to submit to US domination are boycotted and sanctioned. Their leaders are assassinated. Chaos and refugee flows are the result. Negotiations are used as a cover for attacks when the other side senses peace and no danger.

The war in Ukraine  could have been ended through negotiations long ago. That was not in the interests of the US military-industrial complex. Eventually, neither was it in the interests of Norway and the rest of the West. Why is Russia not granted the same right to secure borders that the West believes Israel is entitled to?

In our editor-controlled  media, from NRK to the aunts in Akersgata, a new brainwashing campaign is now underway. We are to believe the US/Israeli versions, and what selected interviewees tell us. People in the West are to – now as before – be led to believe that Israel is a valiant David against barbaric Goliaths.

In such a fight, anything is permitted. Including not questioning Israel's right to the nuclear weapons that Norway once had as a midwife.
By what right can we demand that Iran stop research into the peaceful use of nuclear technology, when we accept Israel's right to deadly nuclear weapons? 

In the Middle East,  it is Israel that has been responsible for terror, destruction and displacement. From before the UN, with a narrow majority and American pressure, decided to establish the state in 1948. To the present day.

The West tacitly consents to Israel's occupation of more and more land - and to turning the Middle East into an inferno of death and corruption. Our government's silence, our own Oil Fund's increased investments, and an Israel that is still allowed to be in good company, show the collapse of Western values.

True enough, our government - against the protests of the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democratic Party - was finally pressured to recognize Palestine as a separate state. It was a symbolic act, 77 years overdue. Whether the recognition brings improvement for the Palestinians remains to be seen.

The clerical regime in Iran is  – in the same way as religious fundamentalists in the USA and Israel – far removed from my point of view. But – if we recognize the right of people to self-determination, it is the country's own citizens who must determine the future of their country within recognized borders. Not the interference, pressure and invasions of foreign powers.

As for  Ukraine, Norway and the West are spending billions upon billions in arms support to undermine such a principle. The average Ukrainian voted for peace with Russia, not war. 
As for Iran, our own parliament speaker, Iranian-born Masud Gharahkhani, maintains contact with the hated Shah regime of the past. Not unexpectedly, today's bombings are being cheered. The hope is to be able to reintroduce the oppression of the past with foreign help.

For now,  a Norway outside of EU membership can pursue an independent foreign policy. 

• That should mean extensive diplomatic activity to create a just peace in Ukraine.
  Instead, we are doing the opposite: Building weapons factories in Ukraine. Feeding the country with intelligence, modern weapons and “volunteers”. Injecting billions upon billions, most of which probably ends up in corrupt pockets.
   
• This should mean demands that the US and Israel immediately stop the destruction in Gaza and Iran, and that our government use the same strong language that we did when Russia invaded Ukraine over three years ago.
  Now Støre and Barth Eide hope that the "conflict" does not escalate, but condemn neither Israel's nor the US's bombings. Boycotts and sanctions are rejected.
   

Rather than relying on  the US – or other EU/NATO old colonial powers – Norway must take measures so that we do not become involved in other people's wars. 
Stopping arms aid to Ukraine and expelling all foreign soldiers from Norwegian soil should be the first step. Down with the 12 US military bases in Norway!
 
Does any Norwegian  government, based on today's career-conscious political caste, dare to take such measures?
Hardly. At least not now, when the SV and Rødt have also become war parties.
The hope for peaceful solutions and a better world lies in political "earthquakes". Could this autumn's general election be a beginning for Peace and Justice?

derimot*no-Jan Christensen

The text represents the author's opinion, not necessarily that of www.derimot.no.