“I will return Iran to the Stone Age” “I will erase the entire country” “I will annihilate an entire civilization”

President Donald Trump has long used rough and bellicose language, but even allowing for that, after the war with Iran began his rhetoric was inhumane enough to shock the world. Experts point out that even if not carried out in action, such remarks are a ‘catastrophe’ in themselves and can make the war even more dangerous.

In particular, the line he posted on social media on the morning of the 7th (local time), “One civilization will be completely gone tonight, never to return,” in effect mentioned a ‘genocide’ (ethnic cleansing) threat as if it were nothing.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, “I strongly condemn the inflammatory remarks used by all parties in the Middle East war over the past few weeks.” He added, “This includes the recent threat to annihilate an entire civilization and the threat to target civilian infrastructure,” and strongly criticized it as “deeply repugnant.”

An anonymous White House official told Reuters, “Several aides were involved in drafting that post, but the phrase ‘civilization annihilation’ was chosen directly by President Trump,” adding, “However, it was a negotiation tactic that used unpredictability, not a pledge to completely destroy Iran or to use nuclear weapons.”

However, Henry Giroux, a distinguished professor in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Canada, wrote in the academic outlet The Conversation, “Such words glorify destruction as the language of fate and make victims less visible.” He said, “The language of war has long been packaged as revenge for honor and as courage,” adding, “This even makes violence seem justified.” He continued, “In the worldview of Trump, where ‘might makes right,’ the language of the ‘Crusade’ has returned.”

The Atlantic analyzed that the rhetoric of President Trump is all the more worrying because of the authoritarian perspective underlying it. His declaration to “eradicate a civilization” was “an act to flaunt that he could wield overwhelming power solely by his own resolve, unbound by domestic and international law.” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly illustrated this when she said, “Only President Trump knows what he will do.” The Atlantic pointed out, “Even in the European monarchical era, a king did not unilaterally proclaim that he would annihilate a civilization,” adding, “President Trump is more serious than that.”

Philippe Bolopion, secretary-general of Human Rights Watch, warned, “A new phenomenon is emerging in which dangerous rhetoric that disregards the laws of war is spreading.” He said, “The words of a leader during wartime are especially important,” and, “When a leader mocks or belittles the enemy during war, it can encourage serious human rights abuses, and such war rhetoric is dangerously corrosive.”