This isn't a new war. It is a new phase of a very old war.
Greek City States fought the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great beginning in 499 B.C.
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| Design on Greek pottery: Fallen Persian soldier on left. Greek hoplite on the right. |
Trump carried out a sneak attack while amid supposedly-sincere negotiations with Iran. Trump did not sell this war to the American people, nor get the support of Congress, nor make this war a coalition of willing allies with a shared goal. We did this alone, with Israel.
Sometimes process is important to the end result. This process is quick and dirty. It is swashbuckling. Heroic. It is Trump's style, especially in this second term. He doesn't wait for permission or consensus.
Trump dismisses impediments that hobble presidents burdened by the Constitution, American laws, international laws, or norms of behavior. He is a modern-day Alexander the Great, solving Gordian Knot problems by slashing them with a sword. He is a winner and no one can stop him. Trump is consumed with hubris. He is dangerous, a dynamo in the center of our politics, the center of attention. Millions of Europeans, many of them French, died because of Napoleon's ambitions. Nevertheless, or because of it, the French have a giant memorial for him.
College classmate Chris Kellogg captured Trump's hubris in this imagined message from Trump to the people of Iran.
TO THE PEOPLE OF IRAN
Ready or not here I come.
I have finally and successfully provoked an attack from your Ayatollah. I don’t care much if tens of thousands of you are going to be mowed down, detained or tortured by your security forces, but I don’t want your current leaders to make atomic weapons. Therefore, I personally have decided that the U.S. should bomb your country’s infrastructure even though bombing-only campaigns have only created complete chaos with few intended results elsewhere, e.g. Libia, Ukraine, etc. So now, no matter that you have no capable resistance organizations or weapons to protect you, I expect you to overthrow the regime. Then maybe I can get a long-deserved, Nobel Peace Prize - I only have a few years left to try, and the one I've got has a Venezuelan name on it.
Also, since you are not as valuable as White Christians, the casualties you suffer should not be a concern. I know I said I was going to do something to protect you, but should you consider fleeing to the U.S., just remember that although ICE is very nice, you should go to Canada instead.
Just remember there is no peace without war unless you avoid military service altogether. And good thing I did not consult Congress although it was not in response to an imminent attack.
Despite the distration of the chaos and buildings falling around you, I thank you for your attention to this matter.
From my golf course - you should see how beautiful it is today - where I am winning too much.
DJT
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