My perspective on the new war

I initially thought I might write this newsletter about my escape from Iraq, but decided to go another direction given my recently posted video illustrates the escape sufficiently.

Instead, I thought I would share my perspective on the current Israel - Iran war. For those of you that don’t know, I was in Iraq when the war started. Missiles and war planes going both ways fly over Iraq, meaning Iraqi airspace was closed (and remains so). In order to leave I had to cross into Kuwait in the south, and begin the long way home to Miami from there. My flight to leave Iraq was scheduled for June 14th… bound for Israel.

While I publicized my travels to Afghanistan and Iraq before I was there, I chose not to for Israel. I wanted to isolate the ocean of hatred that would come my way to the time when I was actually there, not leading up to it. Of course, that trip was cancelled when the war began.

Outside of our normal day-to-day lives, there is quite a stirring in the world about this current conflict. It is the first time there has been a serious, direct battle between Israel and Iran.

Iran is a country I have wanted to visit for some time. I knew that following what was supposed to be this recent trip to Israel, my chances of visiting Iran under the current regime would shrivel to near zero. Posting tons of Israel content on my channels would clearly show I had been, which bars entry to Iran.

There are many directions to take the conversation about this war, Israel, Iran, and the United States. I’ll do my best to not go off in too many directions:

Do I support this conflict? Maybe. We have been lied too countless times by our governments in order to get into conflicts we shouldn’t have. What I’ve come to observe is that America doesn’t get into conflicts with countries that are devoid of our values, we get into conflict with countries that aren’t willing to play ball. There are plenty of countries that are buddies with the US that do awful things.

And so the question of my support comes down to that - trust. Can I trust that what’s being pushed out is true? Not entirely, no. But my opinion is also bias, as I am Jewish. I believe in the right of the Jewish people to live in the State of Israel (the actual definition Zionism), alongside and on equal footing with peaceful people of other religions and backgrounds. While America is not so threatened by a more heavily armed Iran, Israel is - as we can all see, there are Iranian rockets hitting Israel.

I believe we as Americans and Westerners generally fail to appreciate that other cultures play by different rules. Assuming that because the Iranian government signs papers that say they won’t build weapons means they in fact won’t, is plainly stupid. Different cultures, different values, different rules - believe me, I’ve seen it. To that end, when you’ve got a regime that openly calls for the death of America, Israel, England, and the rest of the infidels, I’m in favor of efforts to depose them.

How should those efforts be exerted? I don’t know, as I’m not a military expert (are you?). Many people in the US are upset that we’re primed to spend more time, money, energy, and potentially lives, on another war. They say that we should put all that towards fixing problems here in America. I agree with their wish, but not their perception of reality. America will not address its problems, domestic and abroad, until campaign finance reform is passed. It is also a logical fallacy to think that because we are not solving one problem, we therefore are not entitled to solve others.

At the end of the day, US involvement seems to be inching forward as there is one particular nuclear site in Iran that can only be destroyed with a US possessed bomb. Do I want to see the US drop it? If the US dropping that bomb and supporting Israel in their offensive efforts leads to the Iranian people rising up alongside the military and security forces, then yes. There will be no regime change in Iran unless the people AND the military unite and welcome the Crown Prince back to administer the establishment of elections.

As you’ve read, there’s a lot of hope and questions in my take. I don’t know what I don’t know, but what I do know is a lot of people pretend to know things they don’t.

War is as old as our species. While it may not seem like it, we collectively live in the most peaceful times in our history. That being said, every war is a tragedy one way or another. I hope the corrupted leaders of nations are cast aside for honest people that have true best intentions - Russia, Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Palestine, Israel, Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, and so on.

It’s good to be aware of things going on, to a point. It’s far more useful and productive to optimize your life and how you relate to the people around you.

Go for a walk.

Sincerely,

Jacob

P.S. Next trip in a month - Brazil and Argentina