The Dad Rants

Greetings Munchkins:

“History teaches us that man learns nothing from history”. --- George Wilhelm Friederich Hegel

About 20 years ago a child was hit by a car at the intersection near our home. At the time, there was no traffic signal at the intersection. The neighbors had practically begged the city to place a signal at this intersection, but they were completely ignored by the city planners. Within a month of the traffic accident, a signal was placed at the intersection.

That is the anecdote that comes to mind for me when I hear the legacy media complain about our current attack on Iran.

The central complaint is that Iran poses no imminent threat. This is the same logic posed by the city planners who refused to place a traffic signal at the neighborhood intersection. They claimed that there was no imminent threat right up until the moment that a child was killed. After the child was killed, then it was determined that there was indeed an imminent threat, and a traffic signal was promptly put into place.

Too little too late for the child that was killed.

There are many historical examples of this type of thinking in the world of international politics. For the sake of brevity, I will limit this historical rant to the example posed by Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, and Edouard Daladier.

Great Britain’s Neville Chamberlain and France’s Edouard Daladier saw no imminent threat from Germany’s Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s. They saw no imminent threat when Hitler started violating the terms of the Versailles Treaty by expanding his army to over 500,000 troops in 1935.

They saw no imminent threat when Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht into the Rhineland in 1935. They saw no imminent threat when Hitler invaded Memel, a part of Belarus that same year. They saw no imminent threat when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938. (The Anschluss) They saw no imminent threat when Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia in 1939.

Today Neville Chamberlain is vilified for his policy of appeasement. Before 1935, France and Germany had the military upper hand on Germany. Had they enforced the terms of the Versailles Treaty and prevented Hitler from rebuilding his army in 1935, WWII would likely never have occurred.

But alas, the threat just wasn’t deemed imminent enough in 1935. It was only imminent when Hitler finally invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. On that day, Great Britain and France finally woke up and realized that only military force would stop Hitler. But by then, Hitler had built an army of 4.5 million soldiers, with 98 divisions ready to invade Poland.

How much easier it would have been to stop in him 1935 when Hitler’s army only had 300,000 soldiers.

In their defense, the French and the British were tired of war. France had lost 1.5 million soldiers in WWI; a kill rate of over 900 men per day. The British lost nearly 1 million men in WWI as well. The civilian population was exhausted of war and wanted to avoid war at all costs. The political class lacked the fortitude to explain to the public the need to face Hitler head on in 1935 while Germany’s army was small and manageable. These politicians were more concerned for the next election than they were for the survival of their countries.

Their lack of fortitude resulted in the most destructive war in human history, with a body count of roughly 70 - 85 million people.

This history lesson practically screams at us across the 80 years that separate us from the end of WWII. Only this time it’s Iran rather than Germany.

Today our legacy media bloviates daily that there is no imminent threat from Iran. In fact, there is a significant conservative faction that agrees with the legacy media. It is great that we live in a country where there is freedom of expression and we can debate the merits of going to war with Iran.

That said, the case isn’t being made to the general public on the necessity of this war.

In this regard, it is similar to Great Britain and France in 1935. Chamberlain and Daladier never made the case to their respective countries on the need to stop Hitler. They let a Stage 1 cancer become a Stage 5 terminal disease. Trump is seeking to avoid the Chamberlain/Daladier mistake and handle the problem while it’s still manageable.

The question in 1935 was this: “Is Hitler an imminent threat to France and Great Britain?”

The question in 2026 is this: Is Iran an imminent threat to the United States?

I’m making the case that Iran is indeed an imminent threat. In fact, it’s been an imminent threat for the past 40 years. Here are the historical facts:

Iran took 66 Americans hostage in 1979 and held them until 1981. In 1983 a suicide bomber killed 17 Americans at the US Embassy in Beirut. Later that same year, an Iran backed Hezbollah terrorists drove a truck bomb into a marine compound in Beirut killing 220 servicemen.

In March of 1984 Iran backed terrorists kidnapped, tortured, and killed CIA Station Chief William Buckley in Beirut. In December of that year Hezbollah terrorists hijacked a Kuwaiti Airlines plane and murdered two American officials. In 1985 Hezbollah hijacked a TWA flight and killed a US Navy diver. In 1989 they kidnapped and killed US Marine Corp Colonel William Higgins while he was on a peace keeping mission with the UN in Southern Lebanon.

It is a near certainty that Iran was involved in the funding of the 911 attacks.

For the sake of brevity, I’ve provided an outline of the numerous attacks on Americans funded by Iran over the past 30 years. You can find this list at the end of this rant. There are over 30 such attacks.

Now that’s the short list of attacks by Iran against the United States. It is most certainly not all-inclusive. There are two additional facts that make Iran a threat that simply can’t be ignored by the United States.

The first is that Iran is very close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. As bad as this sounds, by itself this is manageable. For example, North Korea is a crazy regime with nuclear weapons, and the world has learned to live with this unfortunate arrangement.

What makes Iran different from North Korea is the fact that Iran’s military is fueled by petrodollars. North Korea is a hopeless communist state that is completely dependent on its Chinese sponsor for food and sustenance. It cannot survive without outside assistance. On the other hand, Iran can use its petrodollars to foment war all over the globe. And this it has done with gusto for the past 40 years.

Additionally, it is located on perhaps the most strategic piece of real estate in the entire world. Iran either borders or is within 1,500 miles of the following naval chokepoints: The Strait of Hormuz, The Strait of Malacca, The Suez Canal, The Turkish Straits, (The Bosphorus and The Dardanelles) and The Bab el Mandeb.

I’m guessing here, but I don’t think I would be off the mark if I stated that over 50% of the world’s oil navigates through one or all of these chokepoints. It is not an understatement to claim that the country that controls those chokepoints is the country that dictates global policy.

Consider this: Over 65% of China’s trade volume and 83% of its oil transits the Strait of Malacca.

Iranian apologists have claimed for years that Iran doesn’t have the capacity to send its bombs over great distances. However, we just learned that Iran launched a couple of warheads at the American base at Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia is roughly 1,500 miles from Iran. If it can launch rockets into Diego Garcia, it can certainly launch rockets into London, Paris, and Berlin. Each of those cities are within 1,500 miles of Iran.

Iran just proved with its missile launch at Diego Garcia that it is most definitely a military imminent threat to Europe. It is not yet an imminent military threat to the United States as it probably doesn’t have the capability to deliver a nuclear warhead to North America. But that is only a matter of time.

But it is CURRENTLY an imminent economic threat to the entire world. If Tehran gains access to nuclear warheads and can deliver them to the economic and military chokepoints that control 50% of the world’s oil supply, that makes Iran an imminent economic AND military threat.

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t relish the idea of hearing air raid sirens on a nightly basis as happens in Israel. Or as happened in London and Paris during WWII.

Just what part of this doesn’t spell “imminent threat?” The death of a child at the intersection near our home wasn’t “imminent” until it happened. Hitler invading Poland wasn’t “imminent” until he invaded Poland.

Will we consider it an imminent threat when they launch a rocket into Miami? Or how about Baltimore or Boston?

Neville Chamberlain didn’t respond until Hitler had built a 4-million-man army. Should Trump wait until Iran has acquired a nuclear weapon?

Neville Chamberlain declared war after Hitler invaded Poland. Should Trump wait until Iran has nuked Berlin, London, or Boston?

Japan wasn’t an imminent threat until they bombed Pearl Harbor. Then they were a very imminent threat.

The world will always have a cadre of bullies who lead powerful countries. The mind of the bully only respects power. Words that aren’t backed up by guns or money have no influence with bullies. Additionally, the bully has to believe that the guns will be used. If the bully doesn’t see evidence that the guns will be used, then to them it’s as if the guns don’t exist at all. Let’s take the case of Japan.

Japan was watching the behavior of the United States as Great Britain was getting bombed by Germany. Tojo watched Churchill beg and plead Roosevelt to join her in the fight against the Nazis. And for two years, America not only refused send troops, but she also didn’t even send guns. Tojo observed this behavior and thought to himself; “This big sissy won’t even lift a finger to help his own allies. They definitely won’t risk their troops in battle.”

Tojo also observed that the United States didn’t really have a military to speak of. In 1939 the American Army only had about 175,000 active-duty personnel. By comparison Japan’s army had 1.5M in 1939, and Germany’s army had 3.9M soldiers.

This behavior led Tojo to believe that attacking the United States was a viable option. Japan’s military elite thought that the cozy, comfortable sissies in North America would immediately negotiate a truce to avoid war if Japan punched America in the face. And of course, Japan delivered a major punch to the face by bombing Pearl Harbor. Of course this was a tremendous miscalculation.

The moral to the story is this: Had the United States demonstrated to Japan that attacking America would be a catastrophically bad decision, they would never have attacked Pearl Harbor, and WWII would have remained a European affair from an American perspective instead of a global catastrophe.

Japan was never in fear of the American military.

And never forget, that when it comes to dealing with bullies you need them to fear you. It’s the only thing they respect.

Which brings me to the final thought for consideration.

Never forget that we are involved in an asymmetrical war with China. My guess is that one of the unspoken reasons for attacking Iran now is to send the message to China that we have both the means and the will to stop any invasion against Taiwan.

This war against Iran is MUCH bigger than what the news media presents. Remember, legacy media is filled with simpletons who are playing checkers. Hang with Dad. We play chess up in here!

The chess players are looking at the entire board. The current administration understands history. The current administration has learned the lessons of Hitler, Chamberlain, Tojo, and Daladier. The current administration is communicating to China that invading Taiwan is not a move that will be in your best interests.

This message was also communicated with the recent sacking of Venezuela’s Maduro, and the elimination of Mexico’s cartel leader El Mencho.

The administration is saying to China: “Don’t make the same mistake that Tojo made in 1941. Don’t make the mistake that Hitler made in 1941.

Whenever you see the media breathlessly reporting on current events, step back and broaden the lens. Play chess, don’t play checkers.

Now, I do believe that there is a healthy discussion to be gained around how to eliminate the threat without getting bogged down in another “forever war”.

But I don’t think there is a good case for not eliminating the Iranian threat RIGHT NOW.

And the timing is perfect. China is economically weak and it is a military and economic paper tiger. Russia is tied up in its own “forever war” with Ukraine. The only country with the capability and the will to eliminate this civilizational threat is the United States.

The time is now; lest we make the appeasement mistake of Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier.

Hitler provided France and Great Britain ample evidence that they were seeking to take all of Europe. Iran has provided ample evidence that they are seeking the elimination of the Little Satan (Israel) and the Great Satan. (America)

If there is one thing that history has taught us it’s this: When dictators tell you that they intend to kill you, you ought to believe them.

And you ought to eliminate them before they get strong.

Let’s not relearn the lesson of Neville Chamberlain.

Peace Out,

Dad

Here is a list of Iranian attacks against Americans over the past 30 years compiled by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Iranian and Iranian-Backed Attacks Against Americans (1979-Present)

April 1995: An explosives-laden van crashes into a bus near Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip, killing one American and seven Israelis. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.

August 1995: A Hamas suicide bomber blows up a bus in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem, killing an American and three other passengers and wounding more than 100.

February 1996: A Hamas suicide bomber blows up a Jerusalem bus, killing three Americans and wounding three other Americans. A total of 26 people die in the attack.

March 1996: A suicide bomber blows up the Dizengoff shopping center in Tel Aviv, wounding two Americans. Twenty people die and 75 others are injured in the attack. Both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.

May 1996: Gunmen kill an American-Israeli dual citizen in the community of Beit El in the West Bank. Another U.S. citizen and three Israelis are wounded. No group claims responsibility, but Israel suspects Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

June 1996: A truck carrying 5,000 pounds of explosives blows up the Khobar Towers, a U.S. Air Force housing complex in the Saudi Arabian town of Khobar. Nineteen Americans die and some 500 people are injured. The Iran-backed Hezbollah Al Hijaz, a terrorist group in Saudi Arabia, is deemed responsible.

September 1997: Three Hamas suicide bombers blow themselves up at the Ben Yehuda shopping mall in Jerusalem, killing a U.S.-Israeli dual citizen and wounding seven other American citizens. Four other people die and nearly 200 are wounded in the attack.

August 1998: With the assistance of Hezbollah, al-Qaeda suicide bombers almost simultaneously blow up the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans, and wounding thousands. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, al-Qaeda developed “the tactical expertise for such attacks months earlier, when some of its operatives — top military committee members and several operatives who were involved with the Kenya cell among them — were sent to Hezbollah training camps in Lebanon.”

August 2001: A Hamas suicide bomber blows up the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, killing a U.S.-Israeli dual citizen and two other Americans. A total of 15 people die in the attack.

September 11, 2001: While the 9/11 Commission Report concludes that Iran had no foreknowledge of al-Qaeda’s attacks on the World Trade Center, the report indicates that Tehran facilitated the travel of some of the terrorists. “In sum,” the report notes, “there is strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers.”

January 2002: Gunmen affiliated with the Iran-backed al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade kill a U.S.-Israeli dual citizen and wound another individual in the West Bank community of Beit Sahur.

July 2002: A bomb planted by a Hamas terrorist kills five American students at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, including an American-Israeli dual citizen and an American-French dual citizen. A total of nine people die in the attack.

October 2003: Terrorists from the Iran-backed Popular Resistance Committees kill three U.S. diplomatic personnel in a bombing in Gaza.

2003-2011: Iranian-backed militias kill at least 603 U.S. troops in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. Iranian training and material support for Iraqi militias during the surge greatly increased the difficulties U.S. forces faced while combating the insurgency and included some of the deadliest weapons used against American troops, such as explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

August 2003: A Hamas suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, killing five Americans and wounding one other American. A total of 24 people die in the attack.

August 2006: Hezbollah fighters kill American citizen Michael Levin, a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), during the Second Lebanon War. He is the only American to die in the conflict.

January 2007: Twelve men affiliated with the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) disguise themselves as U.S. soldiers, enter the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in the Iraqi city of Karbala, kill five U.S. soldiers, and wound another three. In 2019, the U.S. State Department issues a $15 million bounty for information on an IRGC Quds Force commander who planned the attack and other “assassinations of coalition forces in Iraq.”

July 2014: Hamas terrorists kill two Americans serving in the IDF during fighting between the terrorist group and Israel in Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge.

October 2015: Hamas terrorists kill an American citizen and his wife, residents of the West Bank community of Neria, in their car in a drive-by shooting.

December 2019: Rockets fired by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, kill an American security contractor and wound several U.S. service members and Iraqi personnel at the K1 military base in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

January 2020: A direct Iranian ballistic missile attack against the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq causes more than 100 U.S. troops to suffer traumatic brain injuries.

March 2020: The family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007, announces that he likely died in an Iranian prison at an unknown date.

July 2021: Iranian-backed militias conduct at least three rocket and drone attacks against U.S. forces in 24 hours in Iraq and Syria, wounding two U.S. service members.

September 2022: An Iranian rocket attack kills an American citizen in Iraqi Kurdistan.

November 2022: A captain in Iran’s IRGC orchestrates the killing of an American citizen living in Baghdad who worked at an English language institute.

March 2023: An Iranian drone kills an American contractor and wounds five service members and another contractor when it strikes a coalition base near the Syrian city of Hasakah.

October 7, 2023: Hamas kills at least 48 Americans and kidnaps at least 12 Americans in a massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel.

January 2024: A drone launched by Kataib Hezbollah kills three U.S. soldiers at a U.S. military base in Jordan and wounds more than 40 other service members.

October 2024: Iran executes German-Iranian national and U.S. permanent resident Jamshid Sharmahd on fraudulent terrorism charges.

November 2024: A report released by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies indicates that Iran and its proxies have conducted more than 180 attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East between October 17, 2023, and November 19, 2024, resulting in more than 180 wounded and three killed U.S. service members.

November 2024: The U.S. Department of Justice announces charges against an Iranian national and two American accomplices for plotting to assassinate President Trump.