Iowa in the Middle East

By Justine Hemmestad

On March 25, a town hall meeting was held in the Readiness Center in Fort Dodge to discuss the local Army’s impending deployment to the Middle East. Captain Johnson, of the Iowa Army National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, told the Leader of the mission: The purpose of this operation is to deploy to CENT- COM area of operations in support of ongoing missions to further enhance security and facilitate the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Upon successful completion of the mission, the Ryder Brigade will redeploy and reintegrate fully home to posture for steady state operations. I do want to note that the mission our unit is tasked with has been ongoing for the past eight years and is not in reaction to what people may be seeing in the news regarding Israel or Iran. There is always potential for a change of mission based on mission requirements, but we are not aware of any changes at this time. We asked Captain Johnson if he wouldn’t mind elaborating more on the unit’s Middle East mission because on March 1, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “I have signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The decision to reverse the Biden Administration’s partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump.” Further, the White House has approved nearly $12 billion in military sales to Israel. Rubio added that the Administration, “will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.” 24 hostages remain alive in Gaza, doubtless foremost on the minds of many. Michael Doran, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at Hudson Institute, spoke with the New York Sun’s Sanity Interview, which helps to clarify what’s at stake (for America as well as Israel). Doran says, “Israel is doing our work for us [America].” He explains, “The United States is in a global contest with Chinese led Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Each one of those powers is trying to weaken the American order and its immediate neighbor- hood. “This contest between Israel and Iran is not really a contest between Israel and Iran - it’s a contest between America and Iran.” Doran says the situation is that dire for America. He says that if it isn’t given significance, it’s like playing chess without one quadrant of the board. “Russia, China, and Iran are all cooperating with each other.” An important factor to consider, he says, is that, “The Middle East remains the center of the global energy market.” The US is who the Iranians think is in the way of dominating the Persian Gulf and all of its oil, Doran says. “That’s the ultimate game for the Iranians.” “Israel is the little satan and we are the great satan.” Thus, he says, “We can’t take our eyes off the prize, which is taking down Iran and its strategic network. “All of us who believe Israel and America are in this fight against Iran together should wonder why propaganda is being consumed so readily (which is exactly what Iran wants),” Doran asserts. This is the work of Iran/ Hamas-fed mass media. He stresses that we as a country and a population should not distance ourselves from Israel, but rather work toward stabilizing the order in the Middle East by working with our allies. He believes that’s the only scenario, and “if we don’t do anything, Russia, China, and Iran will take over.” Pertaining to the intricacies, Doran says that we need the Turks against the Russians and the Iranians. He adds that the Turks are against the Russians and the Iranians, and “they’re 100% against invasion of Ukraine.” We haven’t considered how strong and powerful the Turks are, he says. “The United States should be working to turn Syria into a buffer between Israel and Turkey - Syria must now allow its territory to be used by the Iranians.” Though the Nameless One says he doesn’t always agree with him, Doran indeed, “conveys a very satisfying analysis of the Washington policies and rationale.” Reading Doran in fact clarifies the entire situation. What everyone I’ve interviewed up to this point has made clear, is that what is happening in Israel (the terrorization of Israelis by Hamas) will happen in America next. In fact, terrorizing America is a goal of Iran’s.