Donald Trump is feeling the hand of destiny on his shoulder. Here is the chance to join the American presidents of legend as a leader of signal consequence and purpose. Crushing the mullahs and eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat would be an act of epic boldness.
The snag is this requires him to be the tail of the dog wagged by Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli premier launched an all-out blitz on Iran but expects the US to finish the job in the mountain lair of Fordow with the mother of all bunker busters his own nation lacks. This feels more America Second than America First, with Trump yanked into a conflict he hoped to avoid.
Moreover, sending B-52s to bomb Iran’s fortified nuclear sites goes against Trump’s stated wish to prevent forever wars in the Middle East and be a Nobel-Prize-worthy peace monger. A snap Economist YouGov poll suggests Americans oppose bombing Iran by 60 per cent, with a lot of “not sures”. Although these numbers could shift if forces are engaged, there is more domestic mileage in diplomacy than war.
Yet the opening salvos of the Israeli assault were so successful that a world-class narcissist like Trump can’t help yearning for a share of the glory. He is itching to press the green light and make the world tremble. Peace-making in Ukraine and Gaza has turned out to be grinding, unrewarding work, while missile strikes are boffo and would show off America’s phallic 30,000 pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator for the first time. Most presidents don’t have the chance to be epochal.
With Iran reeling, there may be no better time for the US to attack. But Trump is also terrified of a quagmire that could destroy his legacy.
There were signs last night that Trump’s attention span was wavering between barking “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” at Iran and prattling on Truth Social about erecting “two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House” as a “GIFT from me”.
This, remember, was also the week the Trump Organization announced plans to launch “sleek, gold” branded mobile phones and a subscription service for “real Americans”. If history doesn’t beckon over Iran, at least there is a fortune to be made in the next four years.
The dilemma for Trump is acute. He faces the sobering possibility that an Iran allegedly capable of hurling hypersonic missiles at Israel might not be ready to collapse in a hurry. Yet if he hesitates now, China – with its eye on Taiwan – and a belligerent Russia may interpret his indecision as a sign of weakness.
The longer he demurs, the more Maga isolationists are baying for him to reject war. Charlie Kirk of the right-wing youth movement Turning Point USA is urging the president’s supporters to “Resist this!”
“Regime change will result in a bloody civil war, killing hundreds of thousands and creating another massive Muslim refugee crisis. Toppling a leader is never as easy as you think,” he warned.
Maga influencers Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson – fresh from humiliating conservative Senator Ted Cruz in a viral interview for knowing nothing about Iran – are convinced Trump is listening to too many covert neocons who privately despise him.
square PATRICK COCKBURN Trump’s crazed antics have guaranteed a legacy of hatred in the Middle East
Read More
But Trump has built up a huge residue of trust with his voters that these noisy media figures can’t compete with. If he bombs Iran or goes for regime change, most supporters will back him. In a Truth Social post, Trump warned supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “we know exactly where” he is, though he added, none too comfortingly, “We’re not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now.”
A more accurate reflection of Maga’s likely reaction comes from Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel and father of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s first-term press spokeswoman.
Huckabee, a devout Christian, claimed that God had spared Trump from assassination last July so he could be the “most consequential president in a century – maybe ever”, a sentiment strongly shared by Trump himself.
He went on to compare Trump’s decision to the one faced by President Harry Truman, who dropped nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War Two, and offered his unflinching support.
“I am your appointed servant in this land and… I trust your instincts,” Huckabee added. “No president in my lifetime has been in a position like yours.”
Behind the flattery, the not-so-subtle message seems to be, “Go on, bomb Iran, you know you want to”. But it was an acknowledgement that only Trump can make the decision. As the sign on Truman’s White House desk used to say: “The buck stops here”. This is Trump’s defining moment.
Sarah Baxter is director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trump is itching to attack Iran – and take the glory )
Also on site :
- Slovak PM Fico raises neutrality before NATO summit
- At least 51 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, health officials say
- Numbrix 9 - June 18