Are We Doomed?

By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

 

A lovely and thoughtful friend from California has raised this question in all seriousness.  She and husband have lived through multiple fires in Malibu and survived.  Now, they have taken a break and are vacationing in Europe and New York City, and are worried.[2]  Impliedly she asks: "Will the United States be attacked?"

Implicit in her question is that Donald Trump launched his game-changing strikes against Iran. American cities including Los Angeles are on "high alert," which hasn't happened since 9/11.

Lots of us remember that fateful day, as if it was yesterday.  The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were reduced to rubble; a jet slammed into The Pentagon where I used to work, killing a law school classmate's wife; and another jet crashed in a Pennsylvania field.  All air traffic over the United States was shut down.[3]

At least 50,000 American troops are at risk today[4], with the possibility of far greater consequences.[5]  Clearly, Trump has unleashed madness, and put all of us in harm's way.  Why?  To enhance his already-gargantuan ego?  Perhaps the Jewish organization IfNotNow said it best in an email message yesterday, which was directed at Congress:

Tell Congress: NO WAR ON IRAN.

Last night, the Trump regime launched illegal strikes on Iran, bringing the United States directly into war without Congressional authorization.

Members of Congress have already introduced War Powers Resolutions in the House and Senate to block Trump from taking any more military action against Iran without permission.

As U.S. Jews, we oppose this war. We need to raise our voices and demand Congress stop Trump’s illegal war immediately.

Take action right now by telling Congress to support the War Powers Resolutions and say NO War on Iran.

This didn’t come out of nowhere. The same war-hungry leaders who pushed the U.S. to go to war with Iraq and Afghanistan have lobbied for war with Iran for decades. Our government has invested billions in forever wars in the region, sent weapons to Israel in violation of U.S. and international laws, enabled decades of occupation, and funded the Israeli government’s ongoing assault on Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump’s war on Iran is key to his regime’s violent agenda. Fragile authoritarian regimes use war to entrench their power and expand crackdowns on civil liberties. Trump will almost certainly use this opportunity to escalate mass detentions and deportations, ramp up surveillance and policing of Arab and Muslim communities, and further criminalize protest and free speech — and have the audacity to claim it’s in the name of Jewish safety.

We know this war will not make our communities safer, but rather endanger us and many of our neighbors and allies. We must act NOW to oppose war on Iran and block the US from sending any more bombs to the Israeli government.[6]

Has Trump launched another 9/11, or something far, far worse?

 

 

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© 2025, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at [email protected]

[2]  See, e.g., https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/us-israel-iran/2025/06/22/id/1216001/ ("State Dept. Issues Global Travel Warning to US Citizens")

[3]  See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks ("September 11 attacks")

[4]  See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14837645/iran-russia-donald-trump-israel-khamenei-live-updates.html ("Israel launches 'unprecedented' strikes aimed at wiping out Iran's Revolutionary guards with 'hundreds' dead as Tehran vows to kill 50,000 US soldiers")

[5]  https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ ("EMP Attack: Only 30 Million Americans Survive")

[6]  See also https://www.yahoo.com/news/world-leaders-react-us-attack-025054151.html ("World reaction to US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites")