By Joseph Massad - Mar 12, 2026 It should be clear to Gulf Arab states hosting US bases that the American presence does not protect them but instead places them in danger or the past month, US President Donald Trump and his secretaries of state and of war have emphasised a vision of the United States
It was therefore unsurprising that, before they attacked Iran on 28 February, American commanders reportedly told their troops that this was a war for “Armageddon” and would bring about the “return of Jesus”.
Reports circulating on social media claimed that US Air Force personnel were served steak and lobster for their “last supper” before embarking on their missions.
The obscene spectacle of Trump surrounded by Protestant Evangelical Christian Zionist religious leaders, praying for an American and Israeli victory against the non-white non-Christians they are bombing, set the tone for the US administration’s propaganda.
But it also reflects a deepening ideological divide within right-wing American politics. On one side are Evangelical Christian and Jewish Zionists who support wars against Iran and the Palestinians; on the other are right-wing Christians who believe that America is being drawn into wars on behalf of Israel.
Similarly, many on the American left, including progressive Jews such as Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, argue that Israel has pulled the United States into war. Rather than seeing the US-Israeli imperialist attack as serving the bellicose American billionaire class that fully backs it, these right-wing and left-wing critics contend that Benjamin Netanyahu tricked Trump into attacking Iran primarily for Israel’s benefit.
However, it is crucial to understand that Israel’s bellicose policies are an element of the overall US strategy in the region and do not exist independently of it. It is hardly far-fetched that the US aims to intensify the Arab states’ hostility towards Iran and incite them to openly join the US-Israel attack.
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