Donald Trump, at the behest of Benjamin Netanyahu, just launched another 20-year war in the Middle East that will almost certainly end like all the other wars in the Middle East waged by Western powers in the past 50 years.
The Soviet empire died in Afghanistan; the U.S. wasted 20 years in Afghanistan before tucking tail and fleeing.
Iraq, invaded because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney claimed Saddam Hussein had WMDs, which he did not, ended with a whimper.
One superpower down, the other lost tens of thousands of its young people and spent trillions it could have put toward universal healthcare, education and infrastructure.
And now, we’re doing it all again.
ICYMI
- Tim Kaine pushes Senate to at least debate U.S. involvement in Israel-Iran war
- Israel-Iran missile attacks pushing gas prices up: More to come?
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said Saturday night from the White House, offering comments that his underlings would walk back on Sunday morning.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a Sunday morning press conference, said the three nuclear sites targeted by U.S. bombers sustained “severe damage,” but conceded it is too soon to assess whether Iran still possessed nuclear capabilities.
Caine, no doubt, is about to find himself out of a job, for not toeing the party line.
However that part of the story turns out, we now await the fallout from the bombing run, which you can expect will be asymmetrical – meaning, not a retaliatory bombing raid on targets on U.S. soil from the Iranian military, but more along the lines of, attacks on U.S. forces and economic interests in the Middle East, terrorist attacks on U.S. personnel and citizens in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, and maybe even here Stateside, at a date and time of Iran’s choosing.
The Secret Service would be best advised to amp up its security around the president and vice president.
Remember that it has been speculated that Iran could have been involved in the two apparent assassination attempts aimed at Trump last summer, as retaliation for his move, during his first term, to authorize the assassination of a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.
A kid with a rifle climbing on top of a warehouse and a drifter scoping out a golf course will be the least of the Secret Service’s worries going forward.
On the domestic politics front, Trump is guilty here of breaking another campaign promise.
Remember that he pledged, early and often, last year to not involve the U.S. in foreign wars, positioning himself as the ultimate deal-maker, who would use economic levers as leverage to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to get Iran to the table to end its nuclear program.
Among the critics of the bombing of Iran are, of course, a wide swath of Democrats, but also prominent voices in the MAGA movement, with Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie posting on Twitter, “This is not constitutional,” and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene going with, “Let us pray that we are not attacked by terrorists on our homeland,” after having earlier issued a pre-strike call for “peace.”
“Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war,” Greene wrote, likely as the bombers were already in the air on their way to Iran. “There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.”
Reaction from Virginia leaders
“President Trump came into office promising to ‘end the endless foreign wars.’ Tonight, he took steps that could drag the United States into another one, without consulting Congress, without a clear strategy, without regard to the consistent conclusions of the intelligence community, and without explaining to the American people what’s at stake,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
More from Warner:
“There is no question that Iran poses a serious threat to regional stability, and the United States must remain unwavering in our commitment to Israel’s security and in ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. But launching direct military strikes without authorization from or consultation with Congress raises urgent questions: What is the president’s objective? How is he measuring success? And what’s the plan to prevent this from dragging our country into another open-ended conflict in the Middle East that costs American lives and resources for years to come?
ICYMI
“The Constitution makes clear that the power to authorize war lies with Congress. There are more than 40,000 U.S. servicemembers deployed across the region, as well as American diplomats, contractors, and aid workers, and the safety of our personnel must be paramount. With American lives and our national security on the line, any action that could draw the United States into a broader conflict demands transparency, accountability, and a clear strategy. So far, the president has offered none of these.
“The American people deserve more than vague rhetoric and unilateral decisions that could set off a wider war. The president must come before Congress immediately to articulate clear strategic objectives and lay out how he plans to protect American lives and ensure we are not once again drawn into a costly, unnecessary, and avoidable conflict.”
Congressman Eugene Vindman, a Democrat who represents the Seventh District, wrote on Bluesky that “the United States goes to war with Iran without so much as a by your leave to the American people. No statement, other than on social media; no notice to Congress; no serious deliberation. This is the stuff of autocrats. Disgraceful.”
More from Vindman:
“The President’s decision will have far-reaching consequences. Nobody wants a nuclear Iran — a muzzled Iran would be a great boon to the region and the world — but the American people also do not want more wars in the Middle East.
“The President ignored his obligation under the Constitution, to the American people to reach consensus; he is solely responsible for all the consequences. He owes Americans a legal justification for his actions.”
Sixth District Congressman Ben Cline, a reliable Trump MAGA:
“As the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism, Iran cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Because the leaders of Iran refused to agree to halt its nuclear weapons program, America has taken action to halt it for them.
“As Commander in Chief, President Trump is to be commended for acting decisively and constitutionally to remove the imminent threat that a nuclear Iran represented.
“God Bless our brave troops, and God Bless the United States of America.”
Fifth District Congressman John McGuire, another reliable Trump MAGA:
“President Trump was clear: Iran can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Iran is a state sponsor of terror, and they have a history of killing US service members and others around the world.
“This is a historic moment, and future generations will not have to live with a nuclear armed Iran. We are thankful the men and women of our Armed Forces returned home safely! God Bless America!”
Share
Chris Graham
