I was relieved that a long drive to the rural Highlands of Scotland prevented me sitting in front of a news channel with my head in my hands for most of yesterday. The sight of Donald Trump in a baseball cap looking the exact opposite of dignity and statesmanlike calm did nothing to quell my anxiety levels.
It is absolutely clear that the Regime in Iran was awful – illiberal, disgustingly misogynist with no care at all for the human rights and freedom of its people. It’s hard to see how the actions yesterday helped the plight of the Iranian people, but that is not what it was about. We have a President who likes to throw his weight about on the international stage regardless of the consequence to humnan life.
I am relieved to see that our Lib Dem leader is having none of Trump’s nonsense:
The Iranian people deserve to live free from a brutal regime. Donald Trump’s unilateral and illegal military action won’t deliver freedom, peace and security. It will only unleash more bloodshed.
The UK can’t be dragged into another protracted Middle Eastern war by a US President. Keir Starmer needs to rule out the use of UK bases for any future unilateral US strikes.
It is yet another extremely worrying time for the world which could have long term bad consequences for us all thanks to the actions of a narcissist in the White House who loves to play the bully.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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12 Comments
It is clear that Trump has no clear plan for what happens down the road. Inviting the Iranian people to rise up against the well armed Iranian government is the cowardly appeal of a bully. The US President is now in breach of international law and his own country’s constitution.
Well said. Precisely the level of clarity we need to be communicating as a Party.
“It’s hard to see how the actions yesterday helped the plight of the Iranian people”…
So what would – another 47 years of condemnations, endless sanctions, statemanlike appearances at a lecturn eloquently describing moral outrage by yet another here today gone tomorrow politician…
Not a single Hamas rocket , or a Hezbollah missile – maybe just maybe it’s the only thing they understand.
@Craig Levene
“It’s hard to see how the actions yesterday helped the plight of the Iranian people”…
Indeed.
“So what would – another 47 years of condemnations, endless sanctions, statemanlike appearances at a lecturn eloquently describing moral outrage by yet another here today gone tomorrow politician…”
What do you suggest the UK could do about it? Especially bearing in mind the US President’s apparently short attention span – will he be paying any attention to the Middle East after this coming week?
On October 9, 2012 Trump wrote, “”Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate,”… Later that same month, Trump warned the GOP not to “let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order too get elected–be careful Republicans!”
Now, in 2026, we have open war with Iran and more and more airstrikes and cruise missile hits. Destruction and deaths aplenty but without ‘boots on the ground’ it is unlikely to achieve anything but a further hardening of ani-American feeling throughout the ME and further afield.
It is just a bombing campaign without objectives, without limits, without a clear plan. The Americans and the Israel military hold massive air superiority and risk nothing doing this but what will this achieve?
Iran is already fractured into many groups that want lots of different things. If they openly rebel and somehow overthrow the deeply entrenched Iranian regime this would mean chaos, infighting, a massively destabilising event that could plunge the whole region into turmoil… Trump and Netanyahu are effectively calling for an Iranian Civil War. If the Iranian population follows that path it does NOTHING for the US but, for Israel, it creates yet another chaotic state that can’t oppose it’s bid for empire in the region..
I thoroughly agree with Ed Davey’s comment. It is good to see at least one UK leader standing up to Trump’s illegal aggression.
Totally agree with Ed.
Trump has alienated most of the USA?,s friends and left himself with Putin and Netanyahu both of whom are using him for their own countries aims.
Disagree with Trump but support the American people.
(Note to moderator: “protracted” misspelt in headline)
Pre-emptive strike sounds kind-of like an invasion doesn’t it? I can’t be alone in thinking that Trump asking the Iranian people to take power is an invitation to anarchy? The USA doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to foreign policy in the middle east…
“The UK can’t be dragged into another protracted Middle Eastern war by a US President”
We can with Starmer as PM!
Not that there’ll be much dragging. The move to full participation will follow in a series of steps. First, Starmer’s claim was that this has nothing to do with us. Then we told that “RAF planes were in the air” – but for monitoring and defensive purposes only.
The latest is that he’s giving go-ahead for US to use UK military bases for strikes on Iran. He’s denied any change of policy of course.
He’s possibly right because he’ll have had in mind this stepwise approach to full scale involvement right from the start.
Thanks to the recent behaviour of the US President it now appears to be legitimate tactics to kidnap or kill leaders of foreign countries. I’ve been wracking my brain to find examples from history of leaders being killed by representatives of other powers. I can think of leaders dying in wars, Richard III, Constantine XI, or shortly afterwards Sultan Murad I — assassinated — and the Hashshashin assassinated several Muslim and Christian rulers. There’s also examples of attempts to assassinate leaders during wars, Hitler in the second world war. But I can’t think of an example of what has taken place recently. How will we now argue against Russia if it successfully assassinates the leader of Ukraine, the Chinese go for the leader of Taiwan, or someone acting on behalf of the hopefully soon to be x-regime in Iran for our own PM or Sovereign? This is a dramatic change in international conduct which if it becomes commonplace will make the world far more dangerous and ensure that it becomes far harder for people of whatever country to remove their leaders.
The Iran sponsored Oct 7 th murder wasn’t exactly legal either.For evil to flourish it only takes good men to do nothing.
I am so pleased to read Ed Davey’s short statement and likewise our MPs questions/comments in Parliament.