https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/11/politics/trump-republicans-iran-war-economic-pivot
Was the conflagration a war, a reporter asked, or merely an “excursion,” as the president had just described it.
“Well, it’s both,” he explained.
“It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be, I mean for them — it’s a war. For us, it’s turned out to be easier than we thought,” he continued.
For Americans eager for clarity on where, exactly, this is headed, it wasn’t much.
And for a president looking to present his best case on a conflict that has roiled markets and polls poorly, it was a window into a difficult political moment.
And Republicans by and large support Trump’s military action, though many voices within Trump’s MAGA movement have either voiced deep skepticism or outright rejected the premise on which the conflict was launched.
Let me explain how I think about the U.S. military.
ReplyDeleteIt is a vast and complicated force involving bases all over the world taking orders from the Pentagon which in turn answers to the Secretary of Defense who in turn serves at the pleasure of the President.
Every soldier, sailor, officer, is highly trained. Everyone has a specific role. And each member in uniform's tasks are all planned out in advance. Furthermore, civilians have an integral role since virtually all the weapons are made by companies whose civilian employees are the experts on how the ships, airplanes, tanks, satellites, etc. work.
The military has its own intelligence resources, but relies heavily on non-military intelligence agencies such as the CIA and NSA.
The President is Commander-in-Chief and is at the pinnacle of hirrarchy. He has to balance information from his advisers with political considerations that involve leaders both within and without the U.S.
The press may want a few one-liners they can headline to the public. The difficulty with one-liners, though, is that everyone can interpret them the way they want.
Anyone here ever try explaining a quote from the Chumash or Talmud to someone who has taken the quote out of context and is interpreting it the way they want in order to bash Jews?
Not to make a comparison between the Torah and statements from this Administration, but followers of this blog are aware that it is not friendly to Donald Trump. President Trump is doing the whole world a big favor by wiping the entire Iranian leadership and it's associated military leadership and internal security services.
The world is going to be a safer and more stable place after President Trump calls our men and women home.
Can I get a "Thank you, Mr. President"?