Despite having overseen both the obliteration of Iran’s nuclear ambition and a cessation of hostilities in a war that had been raging between Isreal and Iran for nearly two weeks, President Trump is not being treated to any of the requisite accolades that should come with such an accomplishment.
To call what Trump has done “heroic” isn’t the slightest bit hyperbolic -- several American presidents have signified that a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable, and have committed to ensuring that it would never happen.
Yet actually ensuring that outcome would require a credible threat of consequences for Iran’s noncompliance, and to have any credibility in making threats requires action beyond clandestinely sending pallets of cash to the mullahs, as Obama did. Only Donald J. Trump has recently had the intestinal fortitude to exert America’s military might in order to establish a global order of deterrence by using Iran as an example. And Trump did this without suffering a single American casualty in the operation.
The competence and seemingly flawless strategic execution of this operation were refreshing for most Americans. Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, by comparison, was an inept tragedy of errors that anyone paying even a little bit of attention could recognize.
Why, for example, did Biden allow Bagram Air Force Base to be evacuated before American citizens and our allies were extracted from Kabul? Thirteen American soldiers were killed at Abbey Gate as the Taliban reclaimed control of the country after America’s botched escape. Hundreds or thousands of Americans and our allies were left stranded, as terrible images of desperate Afghanis clinging to the wheels of departing American planes were imprinted in American minds.
Conversely, consider the past few weeks.
In close coordination with America and many of the formerly-hostile surrounding Arab nations, Israel’s missiles and planes traversed over 1,000 miles to decapitate the Iranian military, its top nuclear scientists, and to completely destroy Iran’s anti-aircraft defense capability.
In a response that was reported by CNN, Dana Bash reported that Trump told her: “Iran should have listened to me when I … gave them a 60 day warning. And today is day 61.”
This one statement suggests that Trump is a rational human being who offered Iran a clear alternative, and also that Iran could have easily avoided this outcome through negotiation.
Then, as B-2 bombers were already in the air from America, carrying payloads that would destroy Iran’s three remaining nuclear facilities (including one that was built 300-feet below ground for totally not-nefarious purposes, we were meant to presume), Trump told the world that he would make a decision within the next two weeks as to how to proceed.That was a brilliant smoke screen, as we now know. Within days, Iran’s nuclear facilities were reportedly destroyed, the result of bombs being precisely launched into ventilation shafts. The operation was so was expertly planned and technologically advanced that the defenses had already been taken out by the time our bombers arrived, and there was no need for a daring trench run at low altitude like in the movies Star Wars or Top Gun: Maverick in order to deliver the payload.
And afterward, the American pilots simply flew home safely.
Naturally, the mainstream media quickly began questioning the efficacy of America’s attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. They began questioning whether he had the authority to do it at all, despite having no such questions for Barack Obama when he unilaterally decided to bomb Libya and Syria during his terms. The leading reason for opposition, if we set aside those who seem to really just hate Israel or Jews or both, seems to be that it risked a greater war in the region or World War III if China and Russia became involved.
Certainly, it did involve such risks. And that is why what Trump did was heroic. To do great things often requires great risk.
And what great thing did Trump just accomplish? Well, if reports are to be believed, Iran’s ability to create and deploy a nuclear weapon against Israel has been delayed by several years. That is a good outcome, even if you disagree with his destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities because he risked World War III by doing so.
There’s lots of chatter about all of that, and it’s often muddied by lots of alt-rightish kinds of commentators that I won’t even mention because it’s useless to expatiate their silly suggestions that Israel is somehow “demonic” for waging a defensive war against Hamas and whatnot.
But China hasn’t rushed to Iran’s aid as Trump’s critics have predicted. Given that the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t immediately closed after the attacks, it seems likely that China has been critical in keeping it open for trade, as China heavily relies on oil imports from the Persian Gulf. And far from being angry with America for having destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities, China has reportedly just signed a trade deal with America.
Russia is unlikely to come to Iran’s defense. In Putin’s words, there are two million former Soviets living there, and that is a serious consideration. Also reportedly, Trump’s negotiations in the Ukraine/Russia war continue apace, seemingly uninterrupted by the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capability.
No one tends to talk about, however, the most important accomplishment that has been achieved by the Trump presidency – he has reestablished America’s presence as the leading hegemon for civilization in the world by the virtue of “peace through strength.”
And, perhaps most importantly, other Arab nations that once wanted to destroy Israel are getting on board.
Fifty-eight years ago, six nations aligned in an aggressive war to destroy Israel once and for all. These nations consisted principally of Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, supported by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.
In Trump’s first term, he declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital, a promise made by many presidents but executed only by our current one. Trump was instrumental in the development of the Abraham Accords – originally an economic partnership between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Economic partnership, as the Trump Doctrine has seemingly established, is the path to peace.
I will not suggest that efforts toward “regime change” cannot be a path to peace, as so many seem to have parroted these past weeks. I’ve heard several smart people say stupid things like “tell me when regime change has ever worked.”
That’s a simply indefensible assertion. “Regime change” is obviously desirable where necessary, and where it is necessary happens to be entirely subjective. Therefore, it’s incredibly silly to insist that efforts toward “regime change” are never an appropriate solution to a global dispute or conflict. The Germans are the better for an outside effort toward “regime change” from Nazism, after all. And I’d wager there are several million people in Eastern Europe who would argue that America’s efforts toward “regime change” against the Soviet Union was a tremendously good thing in their lives and for the world.
The Abraham Accords were a tremendous step forward in normalizing Arab relations with Israel, and based upon economic partnership. Now, Hezbollah, which is an Iranian terror proxy, has sensed Iran’s weakness and is reportedly repositioning from southern Lebanon. This creates the conditions for both Lebanon and Syria, the latter being under new leadership in the post-Assad era, to join the Abraham accords, along with potentially Saudi Arabia.
It is the prospect of economic partnership with the United States and Israel that has led to the isolation of the terrorism-sponsoring rogue nation of Iran and the prospect of peace between Israel and its less hostile neighbors. And this outcome can largely be credited to President Donald J. Trump, who appears to be changing the political landscape of the Middle East for the better with each passing moment of his presidency.
