Going into this past weekend, many, many people warned that the war with Iran that Donald Trump is now embroiled in could go horribly wrong. But there are few, if any, who predicted it would go this wrong, this fast.
Only three days in, the war is already emerging as an even bigger political liability for Donald Trump than when he launched it with only 27 percent support. The Pentagon has admitted that, officially, four US service members are dead, a number many observers suspect is a vast undercount, which both Trump and the Pentagon seem to be hinting is true. The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already sending oil prices skyward, threatening to worsen the affordability crisis that gave Republicans an electoral black eye five months ago.
The US military is burning through its already depleted stockpiles of interceptors and other munitions, and even hawkish military experts doubt it has enough for a war lasting more than a week. US bases and hotels housing American service members have been hit in four different Gulf states. On top of that, three US fighter jets were shot down yesterday in what the Pentagon says was an incident of friendly fire from one of its own security partners, Kuwait.
Officials within the administration appear to be leaking against the White House and contradicting its pro-war talking points, as if eager to make sure blame for the war is correctly assigned to Trump. The latest polling has nearly two-thirds of Americans opposing the war, reflected in the fact that even Trump sycophants like Matt Walsh are openly criticizing it. Trump officials are now publicly trying to pawn the responsibility for the war off on Israel, a fact that, while objectively true, suggests the White House is no longer eager to take credit for the decision.
Trump and his team, it is painfully clear, are in way over their heads with no plan. This was already obvious in the lead-up, when Trump couldn’t settle on a single consistent rationale for the war…
Auteur: Branko Marcetic
