Among strategists and commentators in Europe who talk about Iran, the words "This is not our war" are often heard. It is a view that is both wrong and strategically unwise, writes German journalist Matthias Döpfner for "Politico".
"Of course, this is our war. It is much more our war than America's. The introduction of Islamist networks into European societies is more advanced and acute here than in America. (And solidarity with Israel, whose existence is threatened, should be much stronger in Germany than in the United States.) But even if we believe that this is not our war, or even if we are disappointed that we were not informed about the plans, there remains a strong tension in European society, in which the proclamation of hatred for Donald Trump is more important than healthy self-interest. In these circles, one can almost sense a kind of gloating when something goes wrong for the Americans again.
Whether this formulation - that this is not our war - comes from Germany, Finland or elsewhere in Europe, it harms us. First, because it is objectively wrong. Second, because it encourages a common enemy. Third, because it accelerates the American withdrawal from solidarity. Their logic is as simple as it is understandable. If the war in Iran is not a European issue, then the war in Ukraine is not an American one. Then the Europeans must decide that for themselves in the future. Ukraine and the Russian aggressor in Moscow are much further from Washington - psychologically and geographically - than the mullahs and their terror are from Berlin or Paris.
Despite all the uncertainty about America's and Israel's ultimate goals in Iran, I am convinced of one thing: In such a critical situation, in which the Americans are once again pulling Europe's chestnuts out of the fire, it would be better to unite. Europe should not stab the American government in the back while it pursues these efforts.
Europe cannot do it alone
"Instead of working behind the scenes to find the right course and the best approach - what used to be called diplomacy - we are organizing public clashes on predetermined issues. We will pay a high price for this unnecessary rhetoric of a sense of neglect - rhetoric that is ultimately just chasing applause at home. Future American governments will also remember this withdrawal of solidarity. If in the future we have to deal with both the fight against Islamism orchestrated by Tehran and the imperial aggression coming from Moscow on our own, Europe will be crushed.
The transatlantic community of shared interests has supported and protected us for 80 years, no matter how complex, unstable and difficult the American administration has been. In the truly decisive hour, "we" has always prevailed. Now Europe says: Me. Or rather: Not me. European leaders prefer to further alienate their partner with public lectures. This is not in our interest.
It is naive to assume that what we see and know is exactly what is happening and planning in Washington. The only thing we really know is that in such situations we only know a fraction of the truth. And that grain of truth is that the American government is finally trying to weaken the mullahs' reign of terror by force of arms. And it's long overdue.
For more than four and a half decades, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has terrorized the free world. Their goal is not simply the destruction of Israel and all Jews, but the destruction of open society - the godless, decadent liberal democracy that they despise precisely because it is free. Our way of life. Our security. Our interests.
For decades, the mullahs have been killing not only women they consider dishonorable because they are naked, but also homosexuals. They have systematically killed their own people when they speak out; they have killed dissidents - recently, apparently more than 30,000 of them in a matter of days. With the same ruthlessness and efficiency, the regime in Tehran has orchestrated violence internationally. Together with its terrorist networks - from "Hamas" Next to "Hezbollah" and the Houthis, the dictatorship of the mullahs is perhaps the most effective and brutal source of terror in the world. They operate in European societies in particular, deliberately spreading hatred and violence in ways that undermine our liberal constitutional order and strengthen extremist movements.
The aggressor in Iran - one that poses an existential threat to us - has been pursuing nuclear weapons for years. Nothing - not a deal, not a call for peace, not a presidential handshake - has so far been able to stop him.
For four and a half decades, Western politicians have hesitated to take effective action against this terrorist state that kills its own people and destabilizes open societies. It was in our European and democratic interest that America and Israel finally took joint action to weaken the Iranian regime. Whether the goal was regime change, the removal of 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, simply weakening the Hydra-like network of the mullahs' elite, accelerating the overthrow through a popular uprising, or a combination of all these elements - I cannot say. Some argue that the first important goal has already been achieved. Iran has been years behind. We have gained at least one thing: time.
Now Europe must stand by the US to take advantage of this".