Why we need to stay out of the war in the Middle East

A different interpretation would say he has calculated from the start that the US doesn’t need the Strait open.

In other words, America and Israel can poke the hornets’ nest with a stick and it’s then up to others to swat the angry hornets that emerge.

Thus, we are all to be co-opted into a crusade against Iran.

We do have another option.

That is to discuss with Iran restoring neutral status for ourselves and for oil shipments coming to us.

This would presumably exclude allowing bombers to attack Iran from British airfields.

But you may say that we should already be acting against Iran in support of the opposition there.

Yet this war has little to do with the opposition movement. Help for them might have taken the form of gun running across the border.

It would not have required assassination of the regime leadership (in violation of Iranian self-determination) or the destruction of their air force, navy and ballistic missile capability.

It may be politic to give at least token support to a powerful friend when they wish it: another time we may need their help. But this would not simply be helping a friend.

It would be helping a friend to help their friend: the war is manifestly Israel’s, not America’s.

This would be the same kind of loyalty-chain which dragged us into Serbia’s war in 1914.

In each case the basis for conflict is so fraught with moral ambiguity that any prudent country would stay out of it.

John Riseley, Harrogate.