In the United States, Democrats are focused on domestic issues. However, the electoral defeat in 2024 and Donald Trump’s missteps around the world – including the latest incident in Iran on Saturday – also force them to reflect on what an alternative foreign policy would look like. Former advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders on these issues, Matthew Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy think tank, is one of the influential voices in the progressive camp.
The United States and Israel have launched a war to bring about regime change in Iran. This is an act of aggression, one of the most serious violations of international law. There is no plausible argument that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and the administration has barely tried to make that case. This is a chosen, illegal, and unnecessary war that endangers millions of people across the Middle East, including tens of thousands of American soldiers. Unfortunately, this war is the culmination of decades of militaristic foreign policy, which Donald Trump had promised to end.
