If You Thought Donald Trump Would Never Do This, You’re an Idiot

Are you surprised? If you’re surprised, frankly, you’re a fool. You understand nothing about politics and international affairs, and you bought into obviously dishonest propaganda about who Donald Trump is.

As of the morning of Friday the 13th, as fate would have it, it was about 90 percent likely that the president was going to join Israel’s war on Iran. That was the day, according to numerous news accounts, that Trump woke up to see the hosts on Fox News bleating about how tough Benjamin Netanyahu was (the bombing had started the night before). Trump’s social media posts that day made it obvious that he wanted a piece of that action.

Once those wheels start turning, history tells us that it’s the rare leader indeed who has the will to tap the brakes. There’s something about men and war; have you noticed? It was reported at the outbreak of the Iraq War that of the past 3,400 years of human history, our race had been completely at peace for only 268 of them.

Before going any further, I want to allow for the possibility that this might not end in disaster. First of all, no one wants a nuclear-armed Iran, so if these strikes actually accomplished that, then that’s a plus. Second, if this attack somehow topples 86-year-old Ayatollah Khamenei, that could end up being to the good, in theory anyway. Third, there is a chance it might not lead to a full-blown war, because Trump is crazy enough to nuke Tehran, and I’d imagine the Iranians know it. It’s for this reason that Iran might not retaliate on a massive scale. As Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time) said of his pre-fight antics toward Sonny Liston, “Only a fool ain’t afraid of a crazy man.”

But Iran will retaliate in some way. There are 40,000 or so U.S. troops in the Mideast, stationed on bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Bharain, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. Iran, according to globalfirepower.com, has the world’s 16th most powerful armed forces. The United States is number one, of course, but 16 ain’t too shabby.