“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild, and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Donald Trump asked. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Believe it or not, this was the US president’s plain threat at the 81st UN General Assembly. Shocking. Preposterous. Has there been any sort of global reaction? Not strong enough, I’m afraid. Trump is such a bully, and so powerful! And the rest of us? Aren’t we to blame too? Staying silent or doing nothing makes us responsible too. Martin Niemöller’s poem comes to mind: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no-one left to speak for me.” Martin Luther King once said: “We will have to repent in this generation, not only for the evil words and deeds of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Sigh…
Buenos Aires Times, September 26, 2026