Trump's generals told him beforehand that it wouldn't go well and that we didn't have the munitions to bomb Iran AND stay ready for a war against China. Trump may have thought he knew more than all his generals, as he usually does, but others around him had to have understood. Didn't they? I'm not counting Hegseth because he's not real bright, and lets his religion do his thinking for him, but I think Rubio and Justa Dick understood perfectly well.
To extend Ron's point, Trump's actions in Iran show just how stupid and thoughtless Trump and his advisors are--as well as how stupid and thoughtless his supporters are. They figured they could murder non-christian brown people far away and everyone would be up for it. To their likely astonishment, only 41% of Americans are. Probably the same percentage of any town's population that turned up for a lynching.
Part of his popularity problem, I would argue, isn't just the lack of any security reason for bombing Iran. It's that Trump didn't start a war. He committed a terrorist attack. This will no doubt go down in Iran as their 9/11.
BTW, I think it was a good idea to include Grenada, which wasn't a war either. It was a deliberate distraction from the Beirut Barracks Bombing a few days earlier, just as Trump is trying to get the Epstein files and his record off the front pages. Of course only Trump could reason that the best way to make people forget that he molested little girls is by presenting himself as the new bin Laden.
Add Hegseth to this mix and it’s all the more apparent that his shabby rhetoric and neediness define the moment. Then take Republican unwillingness to demand a voice from elected—even if idiotic—representatives and it becomes a solo performance. And the performer cannot speak two coherent sentences on the war. The environmental disaster, the economic tragedy, the dissipation of any coalition or alliance worth the name, and, at bottom, the clear perception that it’s Netanyahu who is driving this… yeah, this is not good.
By the time we invaded Iraq a large majority of Americans had been bamboozled by the Bush administration and right wing media into believing Saddam had been involved in 9-11. The media did little to counter the lies we were told. MSNBC forced Phil Donahue, their most popular host, to have two pro-war guests for every one who was anti-war and Donahue counted as one pro-war guest. Then MSNBC fired him despite his having their highest rated show. They used the same excuse CBS used to fire Colbert, host of the highest-rated late night show — too expensive.
By the time we invaded Iraq a large majority of Americans had been bamboozled by the Bush administration and right wing media into believing Saddam had been involved in 9-11.
Trump's generals told him beforehand that it wouldn't go well and that we didn't have the munitions to bomb Iran AND stay ready for a war against China. Trump may have thought he knew more than all his generals, as he usually does, but others around him had to have understood. Didn't they? I'm not counting Hegseth because he's not real bright, and lets his religion do his thinking for him, but I think Rubio and Justa Dick understood perfectly well.
Great essay, Paul.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if behind the scenes, most of the people around Trump knew that this wasn’t going to go well.”
Normally true, but this crowd? Doubt it.
To extend Ron's point, Trump's actions in Iran show just how stupid and thoughtless Trump and his advisors are--as well as how stupid and thoughtless his supporters are. They figured they could murder non-christian brown people far away and everyone would be up for it. To their likely astonishment, only 41% of Americans are. Probably the same percentage of any town's population that turned up for a lynching.
Part of his popularity problem, I would argue, isn't just the lack of any security reason for bombing Iran. It's that Trump didn't start a war. He committed a terrorist attack. This will no doubt go down in Iran as their 9/11.
BTW, I think it was a good idea to include Grenada, which wasn't a war either. It was a deliberate distraction from the Beirut Barracks Bombing a few days earlier, just as Trump is trying to get the Epstein files and his record off the front pages. Of course only Trump could reason that the best way to make people forget that he molested little girls is by presenting himself as the new bin Laden.
I thought a best analysis of the whole Iran disaster came from James Fallows, a great old-time journalist who knocks me out with every post he makes: https://fallows.substack.com/p/the-arrogance-of-ignorance
I coukdnt read it all but what I read was really great.
Add Hegseth to this mix and it’s all the more apparent that his shabby rhetoric and neediness define the moment. Then take Republican unwillingness to demand a voice from elected—even if idiotic—representatives and it becomes a solo performance. And the performer cannot speak two coherent sentences on the war. The environmental disaster, the economic tragedy, the dissipation of any coalition or alliance worth the name, and, at bottom, the clear perception that it’s Netanyahu who is driving this… yeah, this is not good.
By the time we invaded Iraq a large majority of Americans had been bamboozled by the Bush administration and right wing media into believing Saddam had been involved in 9-11. The media did little to counter the lies we were told. MSNBC forced Phil Donahue, their most popular host, to have two pro-war guests for every one who was anti-war and Donahue counted as one pro-war guest. Then MSNBC fired him despite his having their highest rated show. They used the same excuse CBS used to fire Colbert, host of the highest-rated late night show — too expensive.
By the time we invaded Iraq a large majority of Americans had been bamboozled by the Bush administration and right wing media into believing Saddam had been involved in 9-11.