When Is A War A War?

     The Washington, DC press corps keep asking about the conflict with Iran: "Is it a war?"  Trump administration officials keep responding, too; you can't fault them for lack of answers.  But apparently, it depends on who you ask and how they're feeling.  It's certainly not a war per the U. S. Constitution, which requires Congress to pull that lever.  Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, Archivist of the United States, former Director of USAID and General Factorum Marco Rubio (he's a Cabinet working group all by himself) has called it a war, told reporters it's not a war and then explained, "They declared war on us," which is what you can expect from even a grotty little theocracy nobody likes after a wave of aerial attacks has knocked out as lot of their military and killed their Supreme Leader and most of his backup singers, along with an unknown number of civilians.

     War or not, it's leaving the usual piles of bodies and burning through munitions and materiel at an appalling rate, faster than the Iranians can make more but also faster than the United States can.  Word is the Iranian government is picking a new Supreme Leader,* and word from the Israeli military is they plan to blow him up, along with any successors.  The problem with that is, they'll run out of guys to do the surrendering, which neatly mirrors the Swiss plan for self-defense, but in a part of the world with a lot more practice in chaotic amateur armed conflict.

     I don't know if that would be a war, either.  And the dead aren't expressing an opinion.

     War, as Marine Major General Smedley Butler famously observed, is a racket, and we'll find out what's making noise by and by.  War excuses all manner of abuses on the home front, too.  I wonder what they'll be? 
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* No matter how many times I type it, it looks like a title from a comedic opera, or maybe a brand of cigars.  But it's no joke.