I remember the helicopters rescuing Americans from the roof of the U.S. embassy in Saigon as South Vietnam fell on April 30, 1975. My memories of people clinging to the exterior of a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane taking off from Kabul, Afghanistan on August 16, 2021, are fresher. Both are dark days in American history and marked the end of two wars that should have never been fought.
While few things that Donald Trump and his MAGA movement have said made sense to me, his call for an end to “forever wars” did. Not as an absolute rule, but as an acknowledgement that despite its military might, wars cannot be won without bloodshed, national resolve, and, most importantly, a carefully considered plan on not only fighting the war, but what obligations and challenges will inevitably follow it.
I have not yet seen evidence that the U.S. has the resolve, a carefully considered plan, or even remotely considered or understood the challenges that may lay ahead.
Donald Trump, emboldened by the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro, chose to launch a war against Iran on February 27. That day likely will go down in history as a day of infamy.
I watched “Secretary of War” Hegseth and “Razin” Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff give the first briefing on the war over the weekend. Hegseth, energized by the thrill of his first major war was, as they say, “hyped.” He told America, in essence, that the war was a slam dunk. Americans and their Israeli allies had overwhelming military superiority and were unstoppable. Caine gave the details in a more sober tone, a throwback to the days when wars were not discussed using words more appropriate for describing sporting events.
As of this writing, six Americans have been killed. For what, I wonder? Other than hearing, ad nauseum, that Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, was terrible and needed to be killed. He’s dead now and military operations will continue, Trump and Hegseth say, until Iran’s ability to pose a military threat in the future is destroyed. How long will that take? Can that be done without ground troops?
Who will lead Iran with Khamenei gone? That is not clear, but President Trump hints there is a plan. He’s just not sharing it.
Trump is calling for Iranians to take back their government. Iran has a population of 93 million people. Did all of them hate Khamenei? If so, why are thousands marching in the streets in mourning and protest over the killing of their leader? What might Trump do if Iranians “take back their government,” but choose a leader not to Trump’s liking?
We should all be glad that the murders and other abuses of Khamenei are likely to end with his demise. The question is whether the war Trump has started was America’s business and whether the war will stop the types of terrorism and human rights abuses that Trump says it will. I doubt that.
Imagine if a foreign leader, say President Macron of France, called on Americans to overthrow Trump, citing his abuse of European allies, ICE, and corruption. What would Trump be saying?
Democrats are now facing the dilemma of what to do about Trump’s war. No declaration of war, as required by the Constitution, was sought. And less than a week after the first bombs dropped, President Trump is saying the war could last for weeks and, more importantly, that he cannot rule out U.S. troops on the ground.
Early in the morning of March 3rd, I woke up hoping to see the blood moon. I missed it but checked to see what the President was up to on his social media site, Truth Social. Surely, the President would have something to say about the six servicemembers killed in action or words of comfort to the families of the soldiers involved in the conflict. I found none of that.
In the wee hours of March 3, the President of the United States posted a video clip of the appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show of himself and future First Lady Melania announcing their engagement. Curious. The President must be lonely. He also posted two video clips of Republican Congressmen attacking former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Trump posted one comment about the war, just before midnight. It tells us much of what we need to read about his understanding of the war he just started:
“The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better – As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought “forever,” and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!). At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries. Sleepy Joe Biden spent all of his time, and our Country’s money, GIVING everything to P.T. Barnum (Zelenskyy!) of Ukraine – Hundreds of Billions of Dollars worth – And, while he gave so much of the super high end away (FREE!), he didn’t bother to replace it. Fortunately, I rebuilt the military in my first term, and continue to do so. The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The most important words in this rant are “Wars can be fought “forever,” and very successfully.” I wonder how the MAGA crowd will react to this?
Our President thinks of the war as a sporting event. He isn’t thinking about the servicemembers who have already been killed and will be killed. He also thinks that somehow, Americans will believe that the U.S. had no choice but to launch the war and that it will not last “forever.”
And what else might have led to America’s new war? Although he has declared himself “completely exonerated,” questions remain about Donald Trump’s involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Trump hopes that the war will push the Epstein scandal out of the news.
Good luck with that, Mr. President. And, unfortunately, the U.S. will need more than good luck to get out of the war that Trump has brought us.
Hopefully, America will have mid-term elections this November. Those elections will be the first meaningful opportunity for citizens to take back America. Those elections will be a referendum not only on the economy, but on Trump’s war, ICE, and on Trump himself.
The post And So It Begins Again…. By J.E. Dean appeared first on Talbot Spy.
