World / March 13, 2026
Trump’s reckless and unnecessary conflict harms his allies and enemies alike.
Donald Trump leaves after speaking to reporters during a news conference at Trump National Doral Miami on March 9, 2026, in Doral, Florida.
(Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) In 1968, Henry Kissinger, then poised to become the most powerful foreign policy figure in the Nixon and Ford administrations, joked that “it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” Kissinger’s remarks were much cited on social networks this week, as the new war launched by Donald Trump against Iran demonstrated once again that American imperialism has the gift of devastating its allies and enemies alike. The burden of suffering caused by the war is not limited to the main actors – the United States, Israel and Iran – but extends to the entire region, even the world. Thousands have been killed and injured, mainly in Iran And Lebanon (which is currently undergoing an Israeli invasion), but also in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all of which are suffering for their loyalty to the United States.
Beyond the regional human cost, the war is also upending the global economy by sending oil and gas prices skyrocketing. THURSDAY, The New York Times reported that the war was “a resounding blow to a global economy already hit by the collapse of the international trade order, the war in Ukraine and the chaotic policies of President Trump.” As a result of the war, the world could likely experience higher inflation, higher interest rates, and perhaps even increased hunger, given rising fertilizer prices.
Responsibility for this disaster clearly lies with the Trump and Netanyahu governments, who launched a chosen war against an enemy that posed no imminent threat. Even after nearly two weeks of conflict, Trump has still failed to offer a compelling justification or even a plausible goal for his attack. And the rest of his administration appears to have been just as reckless; Thursday, CNN reported that the United States didn’t even have a plan for what was always one of the most likely outcomes of war:
The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes during planning the current operation….
That of President Donald Trump The national security team has not fully considered the potential consequences of what some officials have described as the worst-case scenario the administration is currently facing.
This is a stunning lack of foresight, given that the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz has haunted military planners for decades.
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Other regional governments, notably the Gulf monarchies, did not ask for this war, but they are paying an immense price for it. They are right to consider themselves collateral damage to the imperial games played by the United States and Israel. Write in the Israeli newspaper HaaretzHussein Ibish, resident researcher at the Arab Institute for the Gulf States, notes that U.S. allies In the Middle East, they are angry not only with Iran, but also with the United States and Israel. According to Ibish:
There is also a palpable degree of dismay with Washington, which launched the war in collaboration with Israel despite their warnings, and which is pursuing a crazy list of inconsistent and often contradictory goals that do not appear to take their interests into account.
This could well be an inflection point in relations with the United States, especially as energy and life-sustaining infrastructure come under attack from Iran.
On Wednesday, Badr Albusaidi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman, showed notable antipathy toward U.S. war aims, saying Washington wanted not just to “weaken Iran” but to “reshape the region…prevent the creation of a Palestinian state and weaken those who support it.” He added that Oman would now reject the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel and refuse to join the so-called Peace Council created to oversee Gaza.
Albusaidi’s comments are a sign of what will likely be one of the war’s most enduring legacies: the growing disillusionment of America’s former loyal friends. Because of America’s superpower status and the strength of the status quo, these bonds will not fray overnight. But given the disaster Trump has unleashed on the world, many allies will naturally wonder whether the cost of friendship with the United States is worth the price.
The problem of US unreliability was already seen as an existential threat before the current war, given Trump’s stated desire to annex Canada, Greenland and other territories. But Iran makes the problem even more acute, as the United States not only threatens its neighbors but also quickly uses munitions its allies might need in a crisis.
SATURDAY, Policy reported,
U.S. allies watch in disbelief as the Pentagon reroutes its arms shipments to help with the war in Iran, angry and afraid that the weapons the United States asked them to buy will never reach them.
European countries that have struggled to rebuild their arsenals after sending weapons to Ukraine fear they will be unable to ward off a Russian attack. Asian allies, surprised by the American rate of fire, wonder whether it could embolden China and North Korea. And even in the Middle East, countries aren’t sure whether they’ll get U.S. air defenses to meet their future priorities.
Currently, America’s allies are caught between a rock and a hard place. The country they depend on so deeply for military protection now poses a major threat to their security. As a rogue superpower, the United States has proven erratic and untrustworthy, embarking on imperial adventures that threaten global stability.
In the short term, countries like Canada and Germany have adopted a strategy of passive-aggressive grumbling. They alternate between complain about the United States and try to please them. But in the long run, this tightrope game will not work: America’s allies will either have to accept their fate as vassals of an unstable empire or, more productively, move toward independence.
Only by freeing themselves from their dependence on American weapons will the countries of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas be able to contain this rogue empire. Given the structure of long-standing alliances, this transition to independence will be slow and difficult. But it is the only path to a more peaceful world.
Support independent journalism that breaks the rules Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding popularity couldn’t have been clearer: rampant corruption and billions of dollars’ worth of personal enrichment during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided solely by his own abandoned sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets.
Today, an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire across the region and Europe. A new “forever war” – with an ever-increasing likelihood of US troops on the ground – could very well be upon us.
As we have seen time and time again, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory justifications for attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are threatened by non-citizens registered to vote. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war.
In these dark times, independent journalism is the only one that can uncover the lies that threaten our republic – and civilians around the world – and shine a light on the truth.
The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors and fact-checkers understand the scale of what we face and the urgency with which we must act. That’s why we publish critical reporting and analysis on the war with Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more.
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Damn Lord Jeet Heer is national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, Time of the Monsters. He also writes the monthly column “Morbid symptoms.” The author of Art lovers: the adventures of Françoise Mouly in comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: reviews, essays and profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American perspective, The guardian, The New RepublicAnd The Boston Globe.
