“Cowboy Mentality”: U.S.–Israeli Supreme Leaders Attack Iran, Plunging the Middle East into Chaos - 3.3.2026

Iranian American scholars warn that a U.S.–Israeli strike on Iran risks triggering catastrophic regime-change chaos. Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg bluntly argues that Israel seeks the ability to strike anyone, anytime. A former war crimes prosecutor contends that President Donald Trump’s war against Iran violates both international law and the U.S. Constitution.

This “cowboy” foreign policy—where red lines are drawn, erased, and redrawn in blood—has already killed hundreds of endangered civilians, including schoolchildren. We forget history at our peril: the 1953 Iranian coup d'état overthrew Iran’s democratically elected government, sowing decades of mistrust and instability.

The excessive cruelty of Iran’s current regime did not arise in a vacuum. After the 1953 overthrow, the United States and the United Kingdom helped reinstall and strengthen Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as a pro-Western autocrat. Backed by foreign support, the Shah ruled with increasingly unchecked authority, relying heavily on the feared secret police, SAVAK, to surveil, imprison, and torture political opponents. This repression crushed democratic development and deepened political resentment, contributing directly to the 1979 revolution and the rise of the Islamic Republic. The authoritarianism and brutality that followed are, in part, rooted in that earlier foreign intervention.

Recent history offers sobering examples of failed regime-change interventions:

Iraq (2003) – The U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein but unleashed sectarian violence, prolonged instability, and the rise of extremist groups.

Afghanistan (2001–2021) – After two decades of war, the Taliban returned to power following the U.S. withdrawal, raising serious questions about the long-term outcomes of intervention.

Libya (2011) – The NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi led to state collapse, militia rule, and ongoing political fragmentation.

Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears eager to escalate tensions, while voices in Washington urge Iranians to “finish the job.” Meanwhile, warnings of retaliation lasting “many more weeks” place American lives at increasing risk.

“Love thy enemy” is not weakness; it is wisdom. Preemptive war without congressional authorization is both unlawful and immoral. If we abandon the rule of law for vengeance, we endanger our democracy—and risk igniting a far wider war.