“Chief among the reasons for the presence of the US service members killed over the weekend in the Middle East is the inertia of decades-long failed and counterproductive policies, and for those troops to serve as a tripwire to justify greater US military action.

Those reasons alone are more than enough to caution against further escalation and to argue for diplomacy, specifically to address the root cause of this current crisis: Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The likelihood of escalation bringing positive benefits to anyone other than the weapons industry and warmongering politicians is zero. Ending Israel’s war on the Palestinians, however, will de-escalate this crisis, prevent a larger war and stop an ongoing ethnic cleansing and slaughter.”