Donald Trump’s ready to wrap it up. The war, I mean.
That doesn’t necessarily preclude a US military operation to seize a strategic island (or two), but according to The Wall Street Journal, Trump told aides this week he intends to stick with his original timeline for the war.
The clock’s ticking. Recall that Trump initially said the operation would take up to five weeks. Friday marks the end of week four.
On Thursday, Trump evidenced impatience. “The Iranian negotiators are very different and ‘strange,'” he said, again insisting Tehran’s “begging” for a deal even as the likes of Bagher Ghalibaf adopt a harder line in public. (Iran on Thursday said they’re “looking at” Trump’s proposal.)
“They better get serious soon,” Trump went on, in the course of suggesting we’re approaching the point of no return beyond which “it won’t be pretty!” You have to laugh. Even as war isn’t funny.
Trump’s postponed meeting with Xi Jinping’s now set for mid-May. He doesn’t want the war to dominate that discussion, and it’ll take a few weeks for the dust to settle once the US stops bombing.
Amusingly in the context of Trump’s JCPOA smear campaign, Iran’s raking it in from oil sales. Iranian Light’s discount to Brent is just ~$2 now versus $10 in February, and the regime’s exporting at pre-war levels from Kharg. Thanks to the Strait blockade, Iran has a de facto monopoly on oil exports from the Gulf.
All told, the regime’s made hundreds of millions over the past several weeks. As one former US diplomat with experience in the region told Bloomberg this week, “The Trump Administration is practically begging Iran to sell oil.”
Reports of Trump’s eagerness to wind down US involvement in the conflict aren’t inconsistent with the deployment of airborne Army troops and amphibious assault Marines. In fact, those deployments could be construed as indicative of just how anxious he is to move on.
According to Axios, Pete Hegseth’s working on a variety of options for a “final blow” which “could include the use of ground forces and a massive bombing campaign.” One of those options reportedly entails seizing Kharg Island.
“Some officials,” the article says, “think a crushing show of force… would create more leverage in peace talks or simply give Trump something to point to and declare victory.”
Speaking of Hegseth, he used a Christian worship service at the Pentagon to pray for death this week. Reading from what he said was a prayer delivered by a military chaplain to Delta Force just prior to the raid that captured Nicolas Maduro in January, Hegseth said, “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness.”
Spoken like a true Crusader.
Sometimes when you just want to move on, you can’t. On February 24, 2020, he tweeted that the coronavirus was “very much under control”. Shortly after, on February 26, 2000 he predicted that the 15 confirmed cases at the time would soon be “down to close to zero”.
I’m with you, Walt. Sure, the Iranians are raking it in from oil sales. I believe the Iranians will stumble over themselves as fire rains down. But we’re not there yet. I am definitely concerned that DT’s delusion-influenced goal setting will trigger losses among our troops. Sure, the military planners have gamed out the operation. I don’t doubt they know well what they’re doing. But I believe Trump cares only for himself, which is a hazard for operational planning. I believe his presence in the office of President is a stain on our country and history. I believe he holds his own name and life above everything, including the American people. I believe even Melania is mere window dressing on the life of Donald Trump. But I trust military planners, and pray the soldiers survive without harm.
Trump is learning the hard way that even with the greatest military on earth the enemy still gets a say in when the war ends.
I think the soldiers are a bluff. The last thing he wants is more dead Marines and Army Rangers when he’s underwater already on the war’s popularity. This is a man who lives and dies by the polls, and he knows he needs to dig himself out of this hole he climbed down in to.
Hegseth on the other hand seems more than willing to martyr the people serving under him as he thinks killing Iranians will help him get into heaven.
“This is a man who lives and dies by the polls.”
His ego might. His political fortunes certainly don’t.
The thin blue line folks still vote for him even after J6, to your point.
Sorry to say this (not sorry) but there will be no heaven for any one in this administration. There are no Christians either. There was a time when people as evil as Trump’s minions believed they could pay money later called indulgences to guarantee entrance into heaven. Those peoples’ descendants are back and believe what their ancient ancestors did. Enough money and enough of the right kind of killing will receive favorable attention from God and his minions. Those people today are just as wrong as their antecedents were centuries ago. And the Head Prat at this time is Pentagon Pete (and his boss, of course).
Hegseth has BEEN making this war a Christian crusade. TFN has been covering this topic at length. Apparently service members aren’t comfortable being told this war is designed to bring about Armageddon, who would have thought?
“it won’t be pretty!”
Boy, are they in trouble now!