Update on the Iran War

 Much as I dislike President Trump, his decision to attack Iran provides an opportunity for him to make a truly outstanding contribution to the world.  Nuclear weapon expansion should be thwarted whether by an ally or not.  Previous Presidents have inadvertently encouraged the spread of nuclear weapons.  It would be tremendous if f President Trump can end Iran’s nuclear ambitions.  It would be even better if he, or his successor, could leverage that into an agreement among existing nuclear powers to monitor for nuclear development, provide a short-range “cease, desist, and tear down” warning.  If the country does not stand down, their nuclear research site should be destroyed militarily.

If he could  stop Iran’s funding of terrorists that would add to the significant accomplishment.

Unfortunately, President Trump's handling of the war with Iran seems to have been deficient in the following ways:

• He has mismanaged our alliances resulting less international (and domestic) support for the war.
• His talk about destroying Iran’s civilization, taking them back to the Stone Ages, and attacking their power plants has made it harder for Iranian citizens to rise up against the regime.  Like almost everyone in the world, they know Trump can’t be trusted.
• I suspect he has caused concern for our Gulf allies by indicating that the USA and Iran might jointly charge tolls for ships to pass the Strait of Hormuz and indicating that he might make a deal with Iran that falls short of their expectations.
• He seemingly underestimated Iran’s willingness and ability to resist, making us vulnerable because they can build drones faster and more cheaply than we can defend against them.  (When the war started, I cited two concerns; a) that Iranian drones could outlast our defenses and b) that Trump was overconfident.)
• He has contributed to the impression that he is anxious to end the war quickly, which encourages Iranian resistance.

The media has served us poorly by stressing the rising price of gasoline but hardly mentioning the risk of nuclear war.  They, and the Democrats, stoke public reactions that encourage the Iranians to think they can outlast us.