Warmongers Face Challenges on the Home Front

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The three primary instigators of the big wars currently plaguing our planet - Putin of Russia, Netanyahu of Israel, and Trump of the United States - are not only focused on aggression beyond their borders, but are also having to closely monitor their rearguard as they try to control dissent at home.

News reports indicate that Vladimir Putin is worried that he could be personally attacked by Ukraine in response to the brutal war that he unleashed on that independent nation initially in 2014 with the Russian  annexation of Crimea, and has been fighting with full-on since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 - more than four years ago.  Ukraine, like Afghanistan before it, proved to be a tougher nut to crack than had been anticipated.  

Ukraine has been launching drone attacks deeper and deeper into Russia, and this week they managed to strike an upper story of a luxury residential skyscraper in the heart of Moscow.  Last December a Russian General was killed by a car bomb in Moscow that was reportedly planted by Ukrainian intelligence services, and last week a Russian military officer was killed in a remote town by a bomb in a military barracks that was believed to have been orchestrated by Ukraine.

Clearly the war is not going Putin's way and he has cause to worry about his own personal safety.  But in addition to direct threats from Ukraine, Putin is also reportedly facing threats of assassination at home over the way the war with Ukraine is playing out and the impact it is having on the Russian people.  He is said to have spent months in bunkers and avoiding his three primary residences.  People who work in close proximity to the Russian leader are having to forgo bringing their phones or devices with internet connectivity to their work sites.

Growing paranoia on Putin's part seems to be the order of the day and he worries more and more about his own personal safety.

But Russians aren't the only people who are growing tired of war.  Dissent is also growing in Israel where the country has been at war with the terrorists of Hamas since its attack on Jewish settlements on October 7, 2023.  Israel's subsequent utter decimation of Gaza in retaliation for the attack was so total and devastating that it ultimately began to stir condemnation from much of the rest of the world - and grew to the point where the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu was even facing harsh criticism from Israeli citizens.  The anti-Netanyahu political forces in Israel have grown since Israel and the United States launched a war with Iran at the end of this past February, and Israel has also started bombing Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah (another militant group) forces in Lebanon, turning parts of that country into rubble piles like those of Gaza.

Netanyahu has been involved in a corruption trial in Israel since 2020 that is on hold during his tenure in office, and cynics see this push for continuous war as his way of staying out of court and out of jail.

Netanyahu's warmongering may come to an end, not through violence such as that feared by Putin, but by the ballot box.  Israel is scheduled to have legislative elections no later than this coming October, and those could take Netanyahu out of power and bounce him back into court where justice might finally be meted out.

And then there is Trump, the American, who professes loudly that he does not like war - and he even campaigned on the promise that he would not drag America into a protracted war.  Yet, here we are in our third month in Iran with no end in sight.

Trump was led into the war against Iran by Benjamin Netanyahu who played to the American president's ego and vanity with promises of a quick and glorious victory.  Trump had just come off of a successful snatch and grab in Venezuela and was probably feeling invincible, and when Netanyahu pulled him by the nose he had no qualms in going along for a second quick win.  But Iran wasn't Venezuela and today we are stuck firmly in the muck of war.

Trump, like Netanyahu, has to worry about elections, not his own, but those of the next Congress which will occur this November.  The Republicans are in danger of losing both Houses of Congress, and if that happens not only will Trump's ability to get things done in Washington, DC, be limited, but he will also likely face impeachment charges over corruption in the House and a removal trial in the Senate - for the third time - something that is unlikely to remove him from office but will certainly eat up a lot of time that he has left as President.

The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released this week shows Trump's approval rating at only 37%, the lowest of his current term in the White House, and his disapproval rating at 62%, the highest of either of his terms as President.  Those ratings, which have been impacted by rising prices which in turn have been impacted by the war in Iran, could likely have a significant impact in November's Congressional elections.

Three old men - Putin (73), Netanyahu (76), and Trump (79) - politicians in precarious political positions - have begun wars that may hobble or consume them.   The arc of the moral universe truly does bend toward justice - eventually.