The US/Israeli war on Iran is a tragedy and a crime: A tragedy because peaceful paths were possible, a crime because the attacks on Iran violate both the Charter of the United Nations and US law. The UN Charter (Article 51) prohibits the use of force unless a country is under attack or force is authorized by the Security Council. The US Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power to declare war. It is noteworthy that few media reports on the war mention issues of legality. What the Nuremberg Tribunal of 1946 declared in its judgment against Germany – that military aggression was “the supreme crime” – is forgotten by those leading the country or writing the news.
One question is, Why the attack now? According to the Omani leader who was conducting the negotiations between the US and Iran, speaking to CBS late last week, a “deal” seemed to be within reach, perhaps an agreement by Monday. Indeed, from what we know so far about Iran’s offer, Iran’s concessions to the US around its nuclear program went beyond what had been agreed to in the 2015 Treaty that Trump tore up three years later. So why war?
Iranian expert Trita Parsi, (speaking here at minute 31), develops the perspective that the plan to attack Iran and the decision to carry it out was that of Israel and Netanyahu, with Trump persuaded by Netanyahu’s recent visits to the US and having no objections to “regime change.” Ori Goldberg, writing in the Israel/Palestinian magazine +972 prior to the outbreak of war, suggests that “Internationally isolated, restrained in Gaza, and unraveling at home, Israel sees another escalation as the only way to maintain its aggressive regional agenda.” And as for Trump, domestic chaos, economic stagnation, and the Epstein files all begged for a diversion, a “wag the dog” moment. That is, for both the US and Israel, domestic politics, not the threat of actual Iranian aggression, played an outsize role in bringing about the war.
Both Trump and Netanyahu have been talking for months/years about “regime change” in Iran. Given the hideous nature of the Iranian government and political elite,”regime change” might sound good. But of course it was never defined, beyond a vague view that Iran would become subservient to the withes and needs of the US and Israel. Now, with the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has “regime change” been accomplished? Based on Aljazeera reports from Tehran, it appears that the constitutionally mandated succession procedures are in motion, governing committees have taken interim powers, and we can expect a new Supreme Leader by next week, probably one preferred by the Revolutionary Guard. While of course greatly weakened, the “regime” will endure. Now what?
In the US media and even at our vigil in Hastings last Saturday, Iranians (especially in the Diaspora) have expressed support for the Israeli/US attack on Iran as a means to get rid of the hated leadership. Exile support for aggression against the home country is a feature in many wars (e.g. US against Cuba). With the death of the Ayatollah and the reconstruction of “the regime,” where do the Diaspora’s hopes go now? Importantly, and largely undiscussed in the mainstream media, a great many opponents of the clerical regime do NOT support war against their own country. Presumably they realize that killing family and neighbors is too high a price for toppling their government, and that it makes real “regime change” harder, not easier. For some thinking along these lines, check out “The Iranian Voices America Isn’t Hearing,” by Sina Toossi, The Nation – Link; and “True Support for Iranians Means Saying No to War,” by Ali Tarokh, Antiwar.com -- [Link].
What can people opposed to this war do? The first and easiest thing is to call our representatives in Congress and ask that they speak out against the war and take whatever action they can to oppose the war. So please call Rep. Latimer - (202) 225-2464, Sen. Gillibrand - (202) 224-4451, Sen. Schumer – (202) 224-6542, and Rep Lawler - (202) 225-6506.
The Democratic Party leadership last week agreed to support a War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives. The Resolution says that Trump can’t wage war without the consent of Congress. Though the point of the Resolution was to stop the war, so far it appears that the vote in the House will come up next week as planned. So when calling Rep. Latimer, please ask/demand that he support the War Powers Resolution next week. Call today!
This war may be a long one. Please join with CFOW and other antiwar organizations to work for peace. Thanks!
SOME ESSAYS ILLUMINATING THIS WEEK
(Video) The Suicidal Folly of a War with Iran
By Chris Hedges [February 24, 2026]
---- The Laurel and Hardy negotiating team of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, coupled with Trump’s appalling ignorance of world affairs and megalomania, seem set to push the U.S. into yet another debacle in the Middle East, one the Congress has not approved, and the public does not want. The demands imposed on Iran by the Trump White House are no more acceptable to the regime in Tehran than those imposed on Hamas in Gaza under Trump’s sham peace plan. … Despite Iran’s relative military weakness, when set against the combined forces of the U.S. and Israel, it can inflict a lot of damage. It will do this as swiftly as possible. Hundreds of American troops will likely be killed. Iran will certainly shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint that facilitates the passage of 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. This will double or triple the price of oil and devastate the global economy. It will target oil installations along with U.S. ships and military bases in the region. [Read More]
An Empire (and Economy) in Decline
By Richard D. Wolff, Counterpunch [February 25, 2026]
---- The last piece of the puzzle, entitled “How will all this end?” concerns domestic conditions in the US. The decline appears to stem from deepening social divisions. Earlier, when less developed, divisions were papered over by the relatively untroubled oscillation between traditional Democrats and Republicans. Now they have become extremely aggravated, producing Trump and his MAGA base. … What results are fast-deepening social divisions across the US? Ever more of the population senses deepening social problems. Ever more of that population sees mounting failure of dominant political parties and institutions to solve those problems. The need for basic social change becomes urgent. [Read More]
International Women’s Day rally in Hastings – Saturday, March 7
The weekend celebrations/actions will take place around the world to mark/celebrate International Women’s Day. CFOW is sponsoring a Women’s Day rally on Saturday, from noon to 1:30 pm, at the VFW Plaza in Hastings. We will feature as speakers community women who are standing up for peace and justice. (No politicians!) As usual, we will have an “open mic,” so that all who wish to speak can do so. We will also have some singing/music, showing off our new sound system! PLEASE SIGN UP on the Women’s Day website, so the world knows that this will be a well-attended event and they should join in. The sign-in link is here..
NEWS NOTES
Our friends at Bend the Arc declare “A win for free speech in New Jersey.” They write, “In a moment defined by grief and state violence, we know that expanding state power in the name of “safety” doesn’t protect communities, it puts them at risk. That is why we are proud and relieved to share that we stopped New Jersey bill A3558 — a dangerous bill that would have suppressed free speech in the false name of Jewish safety. While framed as a bill that would “fight antisemitism,”. By conflating critique of the policies of the Israeli government with antisemitism, this bill would have targeted the voices that speak truth to power, advancing an authoritarian playbook that aims to squash dissent by using fear and scapegoating as a political tool. [Read More]
At yesterday’s vigil in Hastings, we were visited by some students from Ardsley who
told us of their recent student walk-out to protest ICE. I know that 2 weeks ago New Rochelle students walk-out in a strong protest. This is happening all over the country, making local news only, but spreading by word of mouth to neighboring schools and their students. I think this is important and will grow as spring arrives.
“Affordability” begins at home, with the high cost of rentals. Hearings about “rental ripoffs,” supported by the Mamdami administration and hosted by tenant and similar organizations, are spreading across NYC. The first hearing was held inside City Hall (video). Another was held in Brooklyn, and Queens and the Bronx are coming up. To learn more, and to sign up to speak at the Bronx/Fordham hearing on March 11, go here.
Among many other revelations, the publication of the Epstein files show that Noam Chomsky, admired very much by me and a zillion others, was often in contact with Epstein. Distress and accusations follow. Mike Albert, founder of Znet and a close friend of Chomsky’s writes some “Ruminations on Epstein, Chomsky, and Us,” linked here. In the same vein, David Bonner writes “A Few Soundbites to Accompany the Left’s Chomstein Outfreakage,” which can be read here.
In response to Trump’s “State of the Union” message, Rep. Summer Lee gave the response on behalf of the Working Families Party. IMO terrific, and you can see/hear it here.
In what has been described as “the largest student revolt since Vietnam, the student protests against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza last year now have their work analyzed and explained in the documentary film “The Encampments.” I liked it very much, and perhaps you will too. See it here.
CFOW NUTS & BOLTS
Please consider getting involved with Concerned Families of Westchester. Weather permitting we meet for a protest/rally each Saturday in Hastings, at 12 noon at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) The Northwest Yonkers Neighbors for Black Lives Matter holds a Monday afternoon vigil at 5:30 pm at the corner of Warburton Ave and Odell. The CFOW newsletter can be read on Substack, and is archived at https://cfow.blogspot.com; and news of interest and coming events is posted on our CFOW Facebook group. Another Facebook group focuses on the climate crisis. If you would like to join one of our Zoom meetings, each Tuesday and Thursday at noon, please send a return email for the link. If you would like to support our work by making a CONTRIBUTION, please make out your check to “Frank Brodhead,” write “CFOW” on the memo line, and send your check to CFOW, PO Box 364, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Thanks.
REWARDS!
Next week (March 8th) is International Women’s Day. The Rewards for stalwart newsletter readers this Sunday look forward to that day. Here are “This Joy” by the Resistance Revival Chorus” and “Union Maid” by the New Harmony Sisterhood. Near the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, Ella Baker was an organizer’s organizer. Sweet Honey in the Rock celebrates her in “Ella’s Song.” Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
CFOW WEEKLY READER
FEATURED ARTICLES & ESSAYS
Robin D. G. Kelley: It’s Not Enough to Abolish ICE — We Have to Abolish the Police
By George Yancy, Truthout [February 26, 2026]
---- Under Donald Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has started appearing ever more like a private militia,. It’s not surprising that ICE has begun drawing even more frequent comparison to Hitler’s fascist Brownshirts, the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. As I’ve borne witness to these tragedies, I’ve often thought about how Black people meet this moment with an already-acute sense of what it means to live and die under the U.S.’s fascistic logics. ... It is for this reason that I reached out to Robin D. G. Kelley, who is the author of several renowned books, including his newest and forthcoming book, Making a Killing: Capitalism, Cops, and the War on Black Life. [Read More]
Frederick Wiseman And The Cinema Of ‘Ordinary Experiences’
By Kevin Gosztola, The Weekly Matinee [February 22, 2026]
---- In documentary film making, few figures defined the craft like Frederick Wiseman, and for over 50 years, he consistently churned out movies that captured what he described as “ordinary experiences.” Wiseman made over 50 films before he died on February 16, 2026, at the age of 96. He openly disliked the “documentary” label that was affixed to his movies. To him, it was marginalizing, and he told Paris Review that he made movies “based on real events” with a “necessary and obviously fictional aspect to them.” … The institutions that he explored through his filmmaking were “obvious” choices. They “exist in all societies.” “Every society has the equivalent of doctors and hospitals, of police departments, armies, schools, theater and dance companies, et cetera. The overall goal is to do an impressionistic account of contemporary life through institutions that are common and have analogues in other places,” Wiseman shared. [Read More].
Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers?
By Daniel Sherrell, The Nation [February 24, 2026]
---- In James C. Scott’s last book, In Praise of Floods, he questions the limits of human hegemony and our misplaced sense that we have any control over the Earth’s depleted watershed. Rather than adapt to the river, we have tried to bend it to our will. Scott traces the history of this struggle to the dawn of sedentary agriculture. Attracted to the nutrient-rich soil, early agriculturalists settled on fertile floodplains to grow their crops. The crops grew well, but the settlements got destroyed by the very floods that brought the nutrients. The rivers shifted course frequently and suddenly, leaving a bog where there had been a planted field, or an empty bed where there had been a stream. Whereas previous forms of subsistence thrived on this dynamic effulgence—the seasonal flush of fish through the mangroves, a suddenly exposed bank of mussels—agricultural societies were defined by their very intolerance to these shifts. The rivers were too free, too fractious. As a result, many societies—from the banks of the Nile to the Yangtze—set out to establish a kind of autocratic control. … Most of what we now call rivers are the heavily domesticated descendants of their wild forebears, which writhed and jumped across the landscape, growing fatter and thinner with the seasons, as different as a wolf from a pug from a wolf. But as Scott warns us, “When it comes to living beings—even domesticates—total domination is aspirational; it is never fully realized.” [Read More]
THE WAR ON PALESTINE
Israel Waged a War of Annihilation in Gaza. Now It Wants Everyone but Itself to Disarm
By Gideon Levy, Ha’aretz [Israel] [February 25, 2026]
---- An armed nation in the Middle East – which holds weapons of mass destruction – has a regime of terror that threatens peace in the region. These characteristics are usually attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they justify prohibiting war against it. But this characterization is true for another country in the Middle East. Israel is armed to the teeth and has a terror regime against some of its citizens, which endangers peace in the region. Such a country has no authority and no permission to manage the armaments of its neighbors and decide what is permissible for them and what is not. Israel is working to disarm and demilitarize most of the countries and armed groups around it, without stopping to arm itself. This is an arrogant and unacceptable approach. [Read More]
Gaza does not need new overlords
By Jehad Abusalim, Mondoweiss [February 26, 2026]
---- Every few decades, a new group of powerful men gathers around a table to decide what to do with Gaza or with Palestinians in general. The language changes. The underlying logic does not. The latest proposals to “govern” postwar Gaza, from Jared Kushner’s beachfront development fantasies to the so-called “Board of Peace” and various international trusteeship schemes, are presented as bold, forward-looking visions. In reality, they are just recycling the same colonial framework that has governed Palestinian life for over a century: external actors decide what Palestinians need, what they may have, and what they must become in order to deserve it. Gaza’s crisis was never a problem of governance or waiting for the right foreign administrator. It was, and remains, the product of a specific political structure: prolonged military occupation, a seventeen-year siege that strangled every dimension of life, and a settler-colonial project that treats Palestinian existence as an obstacle to be managed or removed. These are the roots. Everything else — the poverty, the misery, the desperation — is a symptom. [Read More]
WAR ON VENEZUELA
The Architectures of Ruin – How Sanctions Kill in Venezuela and Beyond
By Michael Holmes, Antiwar.com [February 25, 2026]
---- Few economic collapses outside of wartime have been as sudden and as devastating as Venezuela’s. To understand how a country with the world’s largest oil reserves saw its economy shrink by more than seventy percent in less than a decade, one must look beyond the slogans and study the interaction between domestic power struggles and an external sanctions regime that steadily constricted the country’s economic lifelines. Francisco Rodríguez, a leading Venezuelan economist and former head of the Venezuelan National Assembly’s Congressional Budget Office, provides this necessary autopsy in his meticulous study, The Collapse of Venezuela: Scorched Earth Politics and Economic Decline, 2012–2020. … Central to his findings is the startling empirical demonstration that roughly half of Venezuela’s total economic catastrophe was caused directly by United States sanctions. … A combination of domestic mismanagement, an escalating conflict between the government and the opposition and unprecedented American sanctions created a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions. [Read More]
WAR ON CUBA?
(Video) Cuba Kills 4 Exiles Trying to “Infiltrate” Island by Boat as U.S. “Medieval Siege” of Cuba Continues
From Democracy Now! [February 26, 2026]
---- Cuban exiles on a U.S.-registered speedboat attempted to enter Cuba undetected, but were confronted by border patrol in Cuban waters on Wednesday. According to the Cuban Interior Ministry, the Cuban nationals on the speedboat fired on the border agents who then returned fire — killing four and injuring six of the men. This comes as the Trump administration’s blockade of fuel has triggered a severe humanitarian and economic crisis in Cuba, compounding the impact of the U.S. economic embargo in place since 1962. In response to the growing humanitarian crisis, activists are organizing a flotilla to deliver aid to the island. “We cannot allow us to go back to the days of gunboat diplomacy, where the U.S. thinks that it is allowed to violate sovereign nations, and it can have hegemony over the hemisphere,” says CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who is taking part in the flotilla. “These are sovereign countries. We must leave them alone.” [See the Program] - ALSO OF INTEREST - “Cuba Under Siege Battles U.S. Oil Blockade,” by W, T, Whitney, Counterpunch [February 25, 2026] [Link].
THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Surviving on Trump’s Dangerous Planet
By Bill McKibben, The Crucial Years [February 28, 2026]
---- For what seems like the fiftieth time in my long life, the U.S., with Israel, has attacked another nation, as per usual without an honest debate in Congress and so far with the reported deaths of both Iran’s leader and eighty or so of its schoolgirls. I’m not going to pretend that I understand the workings of Trump’s brain well enough to gauge the casus belli, but I will note—because again I’ve been around a while—that Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas and the third-biggest pool of oil (trailing only Saudi Arabia and, um, Venezuela). As oil executives helpfully explained to Politico last month, they are generously prepared to be a “stabilizing force” in Iran should the regime fall—indeed, they’d rather do it there than in Venezuela because, as executives explained, “Iran’s oil industry, despite being ravaged by years of U.S. sanctions, is still considered to be structurally sound, unlike that of Venezuela’s.” … In the meantime, our attack almost guarantees that the price of oil will jump, also good news for the industry that backed the president’s reelection so fulsomely. ut this kind of analysis is almost too easy, because so much of the geopolitics of the last century has been about the control and the flow of oil. What’s interesting is the lessons others are taking from it. [Read More]. – ALSO OF INTEREST - “The Reckless Repeal of the Endangerment Finding,” by John P. Holdren, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [February 19, 2026] Link]; and “Judge Approves $345 Million Verdict Against Greenpeace in Pipeline Suit,” New York Times [February 27, 2026] [Link]. (FB – News just in. A horrible outcome to a ridiculous case. Perhaps more soon. – h/t MB)
THE STATE OF THE UNION
(Video) Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz Slams Trump’s Myths About Tariffs, Affordability
From Democracy Now! [February 25, 2026]
---- Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz responds to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, when the president repeatedly touted his tariffs as saving the country money and boosting the economy. Stiglitz says Trump’s “lies” about tariffs can’t erase the truth about how they have raised costs for most U.S. residents. “It is estimated the average family is paying somewhere between $1,000 and $1,700 in extra money because of the tariffs,” says Stiglitz. “His policies have failed.” [See the Program] – ALSO OF INTEREST - (Video) “Trump Lashes Out & Attacks Justices After Supreme Court Limits His Power to Impose Tariffs,” from Democracy Now! [February 23, 2026] [Link].
ALSO OF INTEREST - “How Trump and His Allies Are Working to Depress Turnout, Intimidate Voters and Steal the 2026 Election,” By Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation [February 26, 2026] [Link]; and “Democrats Should Never Again Rise to Trump’s Anti-Trans Bait,” by Natasha Lennard, The Intercept [February 25, 2026] [Link].
OUR HISTORY
We Are Still Discovering the Tracks of the Underground Railroad
By David S. D’Amato, Counterpunch [February 26, 2026]
---- In a historic early nineteenth century building, in a bedroom on the second floor, you can find a large white dresser built into the wall. Opening the dresser’s heavy bottom drawer, there is a small hatch door in the bottom, leading into a narrow shaft with a steep, wooden ladder leading downward. The wax drippings of long-extinguished candles dot the confines of the dark shaft. Historians and conservationists have long known about this strange secret passage stretching down to the ground level. … For millions of Americans of all backgrounds and skin tones, the story of the Underground Railroad is among the most inspirational and emotionally resonant stories of our history as a country, one of true heroism in a life-or-death struggle for freedom. It is a story of America striving to become what it promised to be. This history and these sites are sacred to all Americans who love liberty and equality, and they’re more important than ever now, at a time when the country has a president intent on stirring up old racial hatreds for political gain and power. [Read More]
A Cold Case Heats Up: The Townhouse Explosion 56 Years Later
By Jonah Raskin, Counterpunch [February 25, 2026]
---- At this late date, we probably won’t ever know what actually took place in the townhouse on March 6, 1970, and in the days and weeks running up to that time. I did hear through the grapevine that one of the bomb makers accidentally connected two wires that ought not to have been connected. Kaboom! In the winter of 1971, about a year after the townhouse explosion, I watched a knowledgeable bomb maker assemble the bomb that went off in the US Capitol, that destroyed property and didn’t take anyone’s life. … Does anyone care what happened in the townhouse? Maybe no one who is politically active today. Protesters from Minneapolis to Los Angeles and beyond seem to have rejected violent tactics and armed struggle, which were watchwords in the Sixties. In the streets today, most demonstrators advocate and practice non-violent resistance. They haven’t picked up the gun or made bombs, though that hasn’t stopped them from being maligned as “terrorists.” In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I espoused violence and took part in violent demonstrations, rioted in the streets, trashed windows, overturned cars and was arrested and tortured. I was also charged with attempted murder of a police officer and criminal anarchy. [Read More]
