Partly Sunny or Mostly Cloudy — words matter!

When I was a child, I often wondered: is it partly cloudy or mostly sunny? Words matter. They can clarify — or they can mislead, obscure, even deceive.

Over the next two weeks, our weather will likely remain unchanged. But beyond the stagnant atmosphere, we await the outcome of a much larger storm: the war of words over our war with Iran.

Sune Rasmussen of the Wall Street Journal writes: “Israel’s attacks amounted to the most serious blow struck in a confrontation that erupted between the two longtime foes on Oct. 7, 2023.”  But, that framing suggests a mutual feud.  Why would Israel, a small nation, choose a larger, more powerful Iran as a “longtime enemy”? The truth is simpler: Iran declared war on Israel long ago.

The New York Times lead story noted: “Fears of a wider war were growing on Tuesday after President Trump called for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender.’” But it could just as easily have read: “Trump’s call signals possible U.S. support for Israel in stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions.” Why does the Times always lead with the mostly cloudy version?

The Independent headlines that “Israeli strikes have killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others, a human rights group said Wednesday.”  In contrast, it is reported that 24 Israelis have been killed by Iranian.  The implication: Israel is committing “human rights” violations in a country that hangs political dissidents and protesters from poles and trees.

After Israel’s strike, Senator Murphy of Vermont quickly blamed Israel — and its Prime Minister — accusing them of undermining U.S.–Iran talks for “domestic politics.” He ignores that Israel waited past Trump’s 60-day deadline, during which Iran’s leaders stalled the negotiations as always on their quest to build the bomb. And if Iran gets the bomb — or can launch 1,000 missiles at once — that would hardly be good for Israel’s “domestic politics” or the survival of the Jewish people.

The Prime Minister of Britain proclaimed that “Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy,” obscuring the fact that years of “diplomacy” (talk, talk, talk) had led Iran to the cusp of developing a nuclear bomb.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry “condemned the Israeli attack on Iranian soil, adding it was “a blatant violation of international laws and norms.” These are strong words but one wonders how useful these words would be (if said at all) after Iran were to drop a nuclear bomb on Tel-Aviv?

The Kremlin said that “Israel is uninterested in mediation efforts over its conflict with Iran, amid a ‘galloping escalation.'”  One might wonder: what is there to negotiate about: how much longer must the State of Israel wait until the theocracy of Iran can fulfill its religious mission to annihilate the state and its inhabitants?

“When our global community fails to bridge the gap between principle and action, when values are not practiced, they become performative, abstract and expendable… We are at another defining crossroad in our history, one that demands a choice, power or principle, the rule of law or the rule of force, decline or renewal,” so eloquently said the King of Jordan.

The King is so right, but so wrong.  You see, there is no principle without power, and there is no rule of law without the rule of force.

As Secretary of State, Marc Rubio stated: “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran.  Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.”  Must anything else be said at all?

Words can mislead, but they can also state the truth, and they can inspire.  Without truth and inspiration to preserve it, without the willingness to defend these truths, evil will prevail.

The greatest eloquest of all time, Sir Winston Churchill once said: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.”

Years ago, Israelis fought on beaches (actually on October 7th as well) and we fought in the green fertile plain fields, the hills of Jerusalem, and the peaks of the Hermon mountain.  Now, we must fight to win, to rid Iran of nuclear weapons, its ballistic missiles, and work with a “coalition of the willing” to return the government of Iran to its people — who should be inspired by the words of Cyrus the Great: “Even if the skies were shorter than my knees, I would not kneel…” no longer to tyranny.

We should all be safe and well.