It only took two weeks of fighting for a majority of polled Americans to conclude that the war on Iran benefits Israel more than the United States. If comments from a prominent, former Navy SEAL and graffiti written in the dust of a US Air Force jet in the Middle East are any indication, many American service members are convinced their participation in the war only serves the agenda of the State of Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Sunday, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft executive VP Trita Parsi posted a photo that he said was sent to him "from the field" showing temporary graffiti one or more service members had written in the dust of a military aircraft:
Some messages on what looks like a Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker satirically embrace the idea that American service members should be enthusiastic about serving Israel:
- "Be a good goy and do what Israel tells you to!!!"
- "I LOVE ISRAEL. I AM A GOOD GOYIM."
- "BiBi's Cucks"
Some clarifications are in order. "Bibi" is a nickname used by Netanyahu, and "cuck" refers to weak men who submit to other men's domination. "Goy" and "goyim" are, respectively, singular and plural Hebrew nouns used to refer to non-Jews. Those two words aren't inherently derogatory toward non-Jews. However, like other labels for people, they can be used derisively or as an "outsider label" depending on the context. For example, in an email conversation with AI scientist Roger Schank, convicted sex-criminal Jeffrey Epstein wrote, "This is the way the jew [sic] make money… let the goyim deal in the real world.”
Epstein made an appearance on the dusty wing flap too. Reflecting a widespread but not-yet-proven theory that Israel coerced Trump into starting a war on Iran by threatening to release damning information obtained by Epstein, one of the messages repeats a common play on words that turns US "Operation Epic Fury" into "Operation Epstein Fury."
Another message mocks the Trump administration's recurring claims that a deal to end the five-month-old war and open the Strait of Hormuz is imminent: "Peace Deal #64 Incoming... ALL THIS FOR THE HOLY LAND." Another mocks the surveillance state that's rising at home while service members who are sworn to defend the Constitution are sent overseas for an unconstitutional war launched on false premises: "I love Flock Cameras."
As this is written, mainstream media isn't touching the story with a ten-foot-pole, despite the sound reputation of Parsi, who has vouched for its authenticity. The media silence about the messages has thus far relieved the Pentagon from having to issue a statement about them. If it does, we can expect the DOD to claim the graffiti is unrepresentative of how most US service members feel.
Parsi says a service member told him that journalists have no idea how low morale is. "What people in the media don't understand when they compare past conflicts to this one, is this operation has no morale behind it," the military man told Parsi. "That makes a world of difference to service members deployed to undesirable locations indefinitely."
In an interview with Tucker Carlson last month, podcaster and former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan gave some blunt insights into similar feelings among special operators still on active duty:
"I just had some buddies leave and everybody knows what this is. Everybody knows they're fighting for Israel. It's a joke. This is not me saying this, this is them. This is the guys that are gonna go over there in Tier 1, Tier 2 units that are joking around, saying 'this isn't even for us.'
Throughout history, that's not a winning strategy. If they don't believe in what they're potentially going to do...and they know it's not for the United States, it's for a foreign country --- like, the fight's out of the dog, buddy...They know it's not for us. They're not defending our country."
Ryan said he'd just hosted a pre-deployment party for an operator, who was fixated on the grim reality of what service in the war on Iran is really about. "That's all he was talking about. And it's fucking sad...like, why don't you just get out, man?"
Thanks to reporting on the extent to which the Israeli government went to sell Trump on breaking his campaign promise to be a "peace president," it's been increasingly common to hear the war being characterized as a "war for Israel." Having convinced America to attack its chief regional rival -- in a war that has killed at least 18 service members and wounded more than 600 others -- Israel is now abstaining from direct participation.
As far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said last month, “The State of Israel has no interest in joining the contained confrontation between Iran and the United States. The current situation is the best one for us.”