Joining Israel's war against Iran is Trump's chance to Make America Brave Again
Surely, saving the world is the kind of achievement for which the modest President Trump would like to credit.
The US should join Israel and help it knock out Iran’s nuclear sites. Doing so would enable US President Donald Trump to boast of having destroyed the Iranian nuclear threat and saved the world.
Surely, saving the world is the kind of humble achievement for which Trump would like to credit. It would also allow him to back up some of his foreign policy tough talk with action. He is beginning to look weak.
His only foreign policy attainment so far has been his Middle East trip in May, in which he sold huge record amounts of American weaponry to Saudi Arabia, which was desperate to buy them, then dressed that up as though it were a serious diplomatic achievement.
Trump’s problem is that he has promised everything to everyone. He has assured his party’s isolationist wing that he would not get America involved in needless foreign wars, which he said led to disaster as often as not, while also making ludicrously superlative threats to anyone who threatened America.
Responding to Iranian threats to strike at American bases in the Middle East as punishment for America’s support of Israel, Trump said, “If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.”
At levels never seen before? Presumably, Trump does know that the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan to end World War Two?
While Trump makes threats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched an audacious attack on its larger arch enemy more than 1500 kilometers (932 miles) away in a classic display of Israeli derring-do.
Maybe Trump is suffering from Nobel Paralysis, a rare condition in which someone cannot decide what to do next for not knowing how it will affect their chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump is known to feel slighted that he never won it for brokering the Abraham Accords during his first term, and hopes he will secure one for expanding the accords at some time in his second term. Now, he might be wondering if getting the US involved in a Middle East war might damage his chances.
These are the problems that arise when a country elects a vainglorious president.
Joining Israel should be an easy decision for Trump. Israel, as always, has done the hard yards and secured control over much of Iran’s airspace, including creating a secure air corridor to Tehran.
Trumps need only send Israel the giant bunker-busting bombs (and delivery means) reportedly required to take out the deepest of Iran’s underground nuclear sites, or send US pilots to do the job under Israeli fighter-jet escort. This is hardly akin to the 20 years the US spent failing to achieve anything in Afghanistan.
It is true that the consequences of attacking Iran are uncertain. The Iranian regime might collapse and fall into chaos, as happened in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or Basher al-Assad’s Syria. Given the intensity of Israel’s attack, the Iranian regime falling is a possibility whether or not the US gets involved.
Equally though, if Israel were to fail to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities because America would not help, then Trump’s Iran policy would be in tatters.
It would mean Trump had failed to secure a deal with Iran and not followed through on his earlier threats to act militarily if no deal was reached. That would be a clear victory for Tehran’s deranged mullahs (assuming any are left after Israel has finished).
Trump’s bullying approach has so far achieved nothing with the US’ heavyweight rivals. Russia’s Vladimir Putin lied to him and carried on his evil war against Ukraine, while China’s Xi Jinping coolly stared Trump down after Trump aimed his misguided tariff gun at the Middle Kingdom.
This is Trump’s chance to piggyback on Israel’s boldness, secure a major foreign policy win, and restore America’s deterrence credibility.
America’s Asia-Pacific allies would welcome this. After Trump’s near abandonment of America’s commitment to NATO, US allies in Asia - Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Australia - have been wondering if they can rely on the US should China become more aggressive. Helping Israel would restore America’s standing in Asia.
As for America’s isolationists, the most prominent of which is Vice President JD Vance, they are simply wrong.
America became the world’s superpower by engaging with the world; and retreating from it would be its surest path to being weaker. It would be the opposite of making America great again.
Greatness does not come from size or strength, alone. It comes from a willingness to make bold decisions - correct ones - when it matters. The moment that matters is now.
Removing the nuclear pall that Iran’s nuclear program drapes over the Middle East would show America still has what it takes to be great, a big part of which is courage.
A truly stupendous piece, Nacham! This is the kind of article I follow Moral Clarity for! The United States under President Trump must seize the opportunity to totally destroy Iran’s nuclear program. Their facilities are already badly damaged and they’ve been set back at least a decade. But the job still has to be finished. I don’t want to see a war between Israel and Iran. Nor do I wish to see the United States start a regime change war with Iran. But this is something that must be done, for the good of all life on this planet. President Trump needs to rise to the occasion as Washington, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Harry Truman, JFK, and others did. This is his moment. He needs to decide what he’s going to do with it.
I don’t know if bombing and totally wiping out their nuclear facilities will cause the regime to fall or not. But at the very least it will significantly weaken its position. The Islamic Republic isn’t collapsing yet but the foundation is definitely beginning to crack. A free and democratic Iran is something we all want and if nothing else, Trump acting decisively will bring that closer to being a possibility. Will he do it? I can’t say for sure. If not, Israel requires no help from America to pull it off. The U.S. just needs to send them the proper weapons needed to complete the job.
One thing is for certain, Operation Rising Lion 🦁 has changed the course of history! I hope the skirmishes between the two sides will be ended with a peace treaty soon. But before peace comes the final blow must be struck. Without their nuclear facilities, Iran can never pose a serious threat to Israel, the Gulf States, the Kurds, or the West ever again. Across the Middle East everyone is quietly celebrating what Israel did. Same here in the Western world. Even a sworn enemy of the Jewish like Emmanuel Macron loved every minute of what Israel did! Israel proves once again why it is the indispensable nation! Israel tried to get Barack Obama to bomb the facilities but he didn’t have the courage to do it. They should’ve been taken out years ago. But Israel 🇮🇱 as always, took action to ameliorate the problem.
More strikes are coming on Tehran, the Islamic Republic better brace themselves! It’s going to be a seriously hairy ride for them! Israel’s bold strike on Iran’s laboratories will go down in history. I couldn’t agree more with what they did! Iran is a pariah state with a gender apartheid who persecutes religious and ethnic minorities who has wreaked havoc with their poisonous influence all over the Middle East.
Quite right Nachum. This is a wonderful satire of Trump. Listening to Trump's childish bluster is becoming tiresome. Just send the bunker bombs already...hardly a WWII commitment or an Afghanistan waste of time. Then he can brag in his typical childish way.