The Iran War Is Consuming the Trump Presidency

The Economist: “Here is a thought to chill the blood of President Donald Trump. He would be in a far better place today if he had followed the foreign-policy advice of the predecessor he loathes, Barack Obama. According to the Obama doctrine, as explained years ago to Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist, an American president’s first duty in world affairs is: ‘Don’t do stupid shit.'”

“As doctrines go, it is not very sophisticated. Moreover, cerebral Mr Obama left a mixed foreign-policy record: he was slow to grasp the full scope of the China threat, for instance. Still, if Mr Trump had heeded him, he might not have joined Israel in launching war on Iran on February 28th without a plan for victory. Mr Trump might not have boasted that the killing of Iran’s top leaders, followed by punishing air strikes, would soon trigger regime change. Given Iran’s complexity and its rulers’ ruthlessness, that was as daft as predicting that the Mafia could be bombed out of Sicily from the air. Now, Mr Trump’s war may consume his presidency.”