The prescient rhetorician: The end of the war with Iran
I have been a professor of rhetoric and communication for over a half-century.
Here is my rhetorical prediction for the end of the war in Iran:
1. Republicans: “Finally we have the one president with the guts to say ‘No More’ to the brutal totalitarian Iranian regime. Their offensive missiles and missile production have been decimated; their Navy is at the bottom of the sea; and they no longer have the ability to join the nuclear club. And, not incidentally, the proxies are neutralized. You don’t mess with a serious president, and President Trump is the first serious president vis-a-vis Iran we have had. And, finally, problems caused by the war to the economy are not only temporary, but we shall soon see a comeback the likes of which no one could have imagined. The future leadership can be predicted by the thousands of citizens you saw protesting the Mullah leadership and the brave Iranian athletes-not singing the Iranian national anthem-who needed protection from the Iranian leadership by the Australians and got it-avoiding a trip home to certain execution.”
2. Democrats: “What a unique waste of lives — American, Israeli and others in the Middle East. And for what? The Mullahs still have the power. The population is still effectively quiescent. And given a couple years we shall be back in the same position with the same enemy growth that we were in a month or so ago. And incidentally, the proxies will be back in 2-4 years. President Trump and Bibi just wanted to divert us, and some were indeed diverted. And look at the devastation to the economy. All of which we predicted. Finally, as to the future leadership, did we not see the thousands supporting the Mullahs in the streets…wonder what they have in store for us and for their dissenters in Iran. Remember how they executed tens of thousands of protesters without the blinking of an eye?”
I have greater hopes. But let me say that ‘regime change” is absolutely critical, not an afterthought.
I do not believe in magic. But rhetorical theory allows for some of it in the mystifying of its audiences. There is less mystification in wartime however-especially when our enemies are not sufficiently opposed by a major political party..
We did need a leader like Donald Trump. But that is not enough. We also need a population in Iran that is armed and has a leader who is courageous, effective and can get his supporters arms to win over a 47-year inveterate enemy.
I think the war was and is necessary. But the next few years’ success is not guaranteed.
Richard E. Vatz https://wp.towson.edu/vatz/ is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of political rhetoric at Towson University and author of The Only Authentic of Persuasion: the Agenda-Spin Model (Bookwrights House, 2024) and over 200 other works, essays, lectures, and op-eds. He is the benefactor of the Richard E. Vatz Best Debater Award at Towson. The Van Bokkelen Auditorium at Towson University has been named after him.