For the past two decades, we’ve been spoon-fed a narrative: mass civilian deaths, particularly in the Middle East, are regrettable but necessary.
Necessary for what, exactly? For “freedom”? For “stability”? These are the tired euphemisms for what is, in reality, state-sanctioned violence, dressed up in moral platitudes to mask the raw ugliness of power and profit. The death toll rises, the excuses multiply, and the world keeps spinning — at least for those who get to watch the carnage from a safe distance. Let’s stop pretending this is about anything other than a grotesque hierarchy of human worth.
In 2003, the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, which, as we all now know, were as real as unicorns. What followed was a years-long bloodbath that claimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, shattered a nation, and gave birth to chaos that still reverberates across the region. The architects of that war — Bush, Blair, Cheney, Rumsfeld — offered their condolences for the civilian casualties. “Collateral damage,” they called it.
Fast forward to Gaza in 2025, and the script hasn’t changed much. The Israeli government, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers its own version of this tragic excuse-making. When Israeli airstrikes level entire neighborhoods in Gaza, the deaths of women, children, and elderly civilians are brushed off as “unfortunate” side effects of targeting Hamas militants.
Israel’s recent attack on Iran is yet another chapter in its long history of preemptive strikes that blatantly violate international law. Its justification? The vague claim that Iran might one day build a nuclear weapon. Yet, rather than condemning Israel for its aggression, the G7 issued a statement supporting its actions, parroting the narrative that “Iran is the principal source of regional instability.” This is coming from the same Western powers that, not long ago, destroyed Iraq under similarly flimsy pretexts.
The irony is staggering. Israel, the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), avoids International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections, and keeps its nuclear arsenal far from international scrutiny. Meanwhile, Iran — despite being a signatory to the NPT and subject to relentless inspections — gets labeled the main threat in the region. If this isn’t hypocrisy, what is? In the geopolitical chessboard, some lives matter more than others. Palestinian lives, Yemeni lives, Iraqi lives — they’re expendable. Israeli lives, on the other hand, are sacrosanct.
None of this would be possible without the United States, the world’s largest arms dealer and Israel’s most loyal benefactor. The U.S. pours billions of dollars into Israel’s military every year, providing the jets, bombs, and missiles that turn Gaza into rubble. And when the inevitable civilian casualties pile up, American officials wring their hands and issue statements of “deep concern.” European leaders, ever fearful of being labeled anti-Semitic, tiptoe around Israel’s crimes, issuing vague calls for “de-escalation” while continuing to sell arms to the Israeli military.
Politicians don’t have to live with the consequences of their decisions. They don’t have to sift through the rubble of their homes looking for their children. They don’t have to endure the humiliation of checkpoints, the terror of airstrikes, or the despair of knowing the world has abandoned them. For them, war is an abstraction. For the rest of us, it’s a moral stain that grows darker with every passing year.
