What happened to so much winning?
Donald Trump and his incompetent minions have trapped themselves and our country in a losing war in the Middle East. Trump and Pete “High-T” Hegseth thought attacking Iran and toppling its theocratic government would follow their Venezuela script, in, out in a matter of days. Maximum lethality. Boo-yah! USA! Anyone with a shred of credible knowledge about Iran knew this was a fantasy, but Bibi Netanyahu, Israel’s criminal prime minister, sold it to Trump.
On February 27th, the Strait of Hormuz was open for free navigation; on February 27th, Iran didn’t possess a nuclear weapon and had no imminent plans to build or acquire one; on February 27th, eighteen US service members were among the living, as were thousands of Iranian civilians. Every tactic that Trump has employed as a “businessman” and leader of a political death cult — brazen lying, attacking the messenger, blaming others for his fuck-ups, changing the subject with stunts and spectacles, and suing — is failing in the Persian Gulf. Reality pushes back and contradicts Trump the way American journalists should, but don’t, even after ten years of lies, threats and insults hurled at the press.
How many times in the past five months has Trump declared victory over Iran? How many times has Trump or High-T Hegseth claimed that Iran’s military capability, ballistic missiles, drones, and so on, have been obliterated or completely degraded? How often has the justification for this war of choice changed? One day it’s regime change, the next preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The rationale changes according to Trump’s mood. He claims the Strait of Hormuz is open, under US control, when reality — and Iran — says otherwise.
Trump must be feeling frustrated. His standard tricks aren’t working like they do domestically. He can’t tie Iran up with a bogus court filing. He can’t simply change the subject because Iran and the global economic consequences won’t let him. He can’t appeal to the Supreme Court. He can, and has tried, to sell the public a fantasy victory, but volatile gas prices and creeping inflation, plus American casualties, make for a hard sell. Trump will continue to fudge casualty figures, as he did during COVID, but lies will not withstand scrutiny for long. Every American death or injury since February 28th belongs to Trump, Hegseth and — let’s never forget — every GOP Senator who voted to confirm the obviously unqualified testosterone junkie as Secretary of Defense.
Trump is trapped, but so are we, a result of 77 million or so voters who abandoned all reason and common sense and returned a convicted felon and failed president to power. A sin, though not the original sin. The consequences were predictable. Voters chose the fool, the man who tore up the JCPOA, a painstakingly negotiated agreement that was working to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The white supremacist in Trump couldn’t abide that the JCPOA was achieved by a Black president. Iran now has more incentive than ever to build a nuclear weapon. I imagine they will.
How does this war of choice end? It may depend on which country blinks first, though at this point Iran has leverage, geographic advantage and the ability to retaliate. Trump already surrendered once, signing a short-lived Memorandum of Understanding that gave Iran much of what it demanded. My fear is that in a fit of temper Trump will do the Trumpian thing and double-down on his failure by ordering the introduction of ground forces. Because Trump is mentally unstable, everything is on the table. Either Trump surrenders in shame and tries to sell it as the greatest military victory in US history, or he goes all out to win; both options are dicey for him, politically and personally, and for the region and global economy. This war isn’t ending anytime soon. The cost in human lives and coin will continue to mount.
What happened to so much winning? I guess it all went to the same place as cheap gas and eggs, DOGE and “Liberation Day” refunds, Trump’s great, beautiful replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and the Golden Age of high wage jobs in rural America. Coming soon. Two weeks from never.
