I really thought I could move on from ‘the war’ in Iran, at least temporarily and I will, immediately following this entry but there’s one important dimension I forgot to include while I was busy insulting, (primarily) the innocent simple town folk, including or especially, the part of the MAGA base that’s run for their pitchfork the moment the script doesn’t go the way they thought it should. You may recall I’ve previously critiqued the reactions to the war and in the process, signaled that I could be counted as one that thinks it’s a needful move and that we finally have a President with balls that did what the past 7 Presidents could not do. But truthfully, I can appreciate the caution of a few of them at the same time I say forthrightly, that Obama and servant Biden were not just cowardly appeasers, not just double minded, but must declare again that Iran was their baby, their secret little lovechild brought into this world to fulfill what they seemed to believe in their soul, that Isreal must be punished and diminished, perhaps because they could never co-exist with all the other parties that would ultimately embrace globalism, their ‘Imagine’ utopia. What Obama did created the necessity for what Trump ultimately had to do. Moving on:
Every last word of criticism I’ve heard and read of Trump’s decision to move against the theocratic Iranian regime has focused on a flat one-dimensional concept, that a President sees a singular cause or reason for defending against or retaliating against a nation-state or faction; upon which he then and only then reacts. They shot a missile at us so now we owe them a missile…. not two, just one. And if perchance they haven’t shot that missile yet than we’re obligated to sit here and wait for it. In none of these circumstances is an allowance even mentioned for a President to consider or act on 2nd, 3rd, or 4th order ramifications. The likely reasons for this observation might have to do with keeping demagoguery as basic as possible for the masses but the more relevant reasons are that the mover and shaker powers dread those higher order consequences even more than what goes on at ground level. Pretending they don’t exist only helps their cause. For example, they will publicly bemoan casualties and dislocation among the Iranian population but then privately gnash their teeth over the coming downfall of the Cuban colony or the neutering of Chinese global expansionism. This is of course not unexpected. What is less forgivable is when parts of Trump’s allies and base angrily rail against him because they don’t even know that high order ramifications exist; as if, ‘Trump has one job and one job only, and that is to get the retail price of gasoline down at the 7-11, under $2.50 per gallon or g-dammit I’m outta here! What’s he even doing in office if he can’t do that?!’ Furthermore, there’s supposed to be a middle group of wise leadership that sees the strategic long-term investment of a well-defined military action and sells it to Bubba out in the weeds. Unfortunately, way too many of them are just as stuck as Bubba while they wring their greasy hands over why and how the constitution -in their infinite legal wisdom- binds Trump’s hands against a strategic move…but maybe not so much a Biden or an Obama….and some of these are Trump’s supposed allies.
Taking out the theocratic Iranian regime along with their nuclear ambitions does a lot of things. Sure it frees up an oppressed people but that is only a collateral goal. It assures energy stability in the long run which assures economic stability for the West (ostensibly, that would include the energy challenged Euro-weenies). While Putin is getting some short-term advantages, imagine a world where cheaper flowing oil shuts down any global need to buy oil from Russia and that starves his war machine. Imagine a China that has to cancel their big brotherly love of Taiwan because they have too much going on at home now that they don’t get below market oil for their ambitions. Imagine a Middle East devoid of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Houthis. Imagine Cuba as a friendly and free neighbor or even a protected territory that shares our priorities. Small minds can’t conceive these fruits while they’re fretting over centuries of nuance of constitutional Presidential war powers. This is not to say there is no risk nor danger, particularly in failure, but at this juncture one should think twice before betting against the competence of Trump and his close administration leadership.
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