Fox News
I was coming home from a track meet last Friday night and got a little sleepy at the wheel. My tactic for staying awake: switch over to Fox News. That normally raises my blood pressure, grabs my attention, and after a few minutes, has me considering throwing my phone out the car window. So I listened to Jesse Watters, the guy who took over the Tucker Carlson hour a few years ago.
Watters chastised “us Democrats”, and, of course, the “mainstream media”. He demanded that we look at the achievements of President Trump in Iran. After all, the Iranian nuclear program was (obliterated, decimated, set back) destroyed to nuclear “dust”. The Iranian Navy (really, they had a Navy?) is at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. An entire generation of their leadership is dead; “regime change” achieved. Their missile production is (obliterated, decimated, set back) reduced. And, (as of that single moment on Friday night) the Strait of Hormuz was open.
Watters told us to stop “wringing our hands” and do the right thing: say “thank you, Mr. President”, for solving the Iranian problem after forty-seven years.
Watters, then followed up with the Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy. The billionaire proceeded to tell me that “us Democrats” don’t have any political goals, except to be “against Trump”. In fact, we can’t come up with a solution to anything, other than to “say no” to Trump. Watters and Ramaswamy served their purpose well. I got home, safe and wide awake. And I still had the phone, barely.
Sunday
It’s Sunday morning. Iran fired on Indian tankers in the Strait. It is NOT open. And while gas prices dropped Friday (down to $3.66 a gallon here in Pataskala, thanks a lot Mr. Trump!), I bet they’ll head back up again tomorrow morning. The victory that President Trump so longs for in the Persian Gulf still eludes him. Instead, his administration puts forth a schizophrenic series of foreign policies statements. Vice President Vance is going to Pakistan to negotiate. Wait, he’s not. The Strait is open. Wait, it’s not. The peace deal is done. No, the United States is going to bomb every power plant and bridge in Iran, a nation almost as big as Alaska.
And after all of the celebration in the deaths of the Iranian leadership; we find that an even more hard line son of an Ayatollah is now in charge. The nascent Iranian revolutionary movement that Trump hoped would rise up, is now making the choice between their religious leadership and the nation that threatens to destroy their civilization (Trump’s words, not mine). The American attacks served to “put down” the resistance almost as well as the rumored 40,000 executed in the streets before the war began.
Meanwhile, Israel has a “ceasefire” with Lebanon; though they reserve the continuing right to bomb who they want, when they want, and where they want. Netanyahu’s strategy is more manic than schizophrenic. His goal seems to be to leave nothing but dust all around Israel, so that he can send settlers in to “civilize” the Holy Land.
What Now
What can we be sure of? That, from the ashes of destruction, Iran is snatching a strategic victory. The American/Israeli attacks led to Iranian exercise of control and even monetization of the Strait, now the “Queen” on the chessboard of Middle East strategy. (That was not even on the board before this “excursion” in warfare). And now the man who made his “living” as the ultimate deal maker, can’t seem to find a way to close. Maybe he’ll follow President Obama’s lead, and release funds more of Iran’s frozen funds. Of course, Obama did get a nuclear deal, without war, and without shutting down twenty percent of the world’s oil supply.
I need to add, it’s sad to be an American right now. We have the greatest military in history, a force we are proud of. I know many who serve, and I have nothing but respect for their skills, their sacrifices, and their incredible effectiveness. To use the reasoning of Second Amendment advocates, it’s not the weapon, it’s the user. The user of this incredible war machine, the President of the United States, is acting recklessly and thoughtlessly. He’s abusing his powers, and risking their lives.
What happens next? It’s in the world’s interest to recognize reality. Iran is NOT destroyed. But they want the attacks to end. The United States has not achieved regime change, but we need to “cut our losses”, “declare victory”, and get the Hell out of there. And someone, anyone, needs to stop Israel’s aggression.
But just because it’s the right thing to do, it doesn’t mean that Donald Trump will do it. And that should be enough to keep us all awake, all the time.
