“US President Donald Trump’s chaotic mixed messaging on his war on Iran have led to mass confusion about what the point of it is, beyond killing the leadership”
Even after Day 4 of unleashing hell on Iran, which has sparked a conflagration across the Middle East and beyond, Trump’s vision for the war is unclear.
First, during last year’s June onslaught on Tehran’s atomic ambitions, it was all about stopping the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons in the ‘12 day war.’ This was a massive bombardment swiftly followed by “mission accomplished” messaging as Trump bragged the nuclear programme had been obliterated.
He boasted: “Monumental Damage was done to all nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply embedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!”
READ MORE: US-Israel strikes kill Iran’s Supreme Leader as Middle East crisis deepensREAD MORE: Iran wants bloody ‘war of attrition’ with Donald Trump after US makes key mistake
He also said, displaying terrific ignorance of the difference between the two countries, that he believed Iran could follow Venezuela in a “perfect scenario” where most of the ruling government remained in power after a US operation captured Nicolás Maduro in January. And in the past few days he has switched, perhaps aware that his killing of the Ayatollah Khamenei was illegal, to launching the war because he was protecting the US and its allies from attacks by Iran.
He said: “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people.”
Nobody disputes that the Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime was evil but it is unlikely to disappear with his death. And Trump made no mention of what Iran’s future might look like after the war ends, or why he believed the country would no longer pose a threat to the US once this operation is completed.
The remarks on Monday were a departure from his initial comments after launching the attack. Trump touted Khamenei’s death over the weekend, but is yet to give a sense of what he believes the succession plan should be. With stunning idiocy he demolished any thought of having a plan as he boasted: “The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates.
“It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.” His hazy thinking and mendacity is so confusing it has even infected the clarity of his aides.
In fact his positions have at times seemed at odds with other top administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Hegseth, speaking on Monday just hours before Trump’s remarks at the White House, rejected the idea that the US attacked Iran with the express goal of toppling the regime.
He said: “This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change.” Hegseth said Operation Epic Fury would be a success, but he did not offer details on the scope or duration of the conflict.
It is almost pointless trying to find a purpose to the war because the longer it goes on it seems that the point is deflection, chaos and bluster which happens to kill lots of people. So far Israel has got what it wants, the death of Khamenei and gradual dismantling of the Iranian system. But it appears the Iranian regime is extending the war, lashing out at the entire region, knowing that it will become increasingly unpopular for the US.
Nobody expects a democracy to emerge from the ashes and it is likely the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will remain intact, though depleted. A new Supreme Leader is being elected and they may pay lip service to the States as Trump is forced to withdraw whilst claiming a victory.
It will be a hollow one that has demolished trust in America. And it has further entrenched within the extremist community, and those who have joined them in the past few days, the belief that the west is evil.
