Trump's Gamble

It was a weird moment watching Trump appear in the east wing of the White House confirming his earlier social media post that he had ordered U.S. bombers to hit Iran’s three best-known nuclear sites last night.

Strange indeed was his awkward invocation, “We love you God.”

It sounded like he might have meant to place a question mark at the end of that utterance.

And well he should have. Despite the rosy report Trump delivered of “complete obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear program, journalists inside Tehran later disclosed that the Iranians had already removed all their stocks of enriched uranium to other locations before the raids.

And Trump’s demand for “complete surrender” is unlikely to be met by Iran’s leaders. Far more likely is the return of the ugly “death to America” sentiment of the 1970s that people my age remember so well.

In fact we remember so much more. The CIA-engineered overthrow of the Moseddegh government in the 1950s; the corrupt reign of the Shah and his SAVAK suppressing Iranian students dissenting here in the U.S. before the 1979 revolution that resulted in the rise of the Ayatollahs.

America has been meddling unsuccessfully in Iran for a long time.

But this new phase is not America’s war — this is Israel’s war. And it remains to be seen how that will play out. In that context, certain bright-eyed commentators have already declared the dawn of a “new era” in the Middle East.

Not so fast. Only if, as those throughout the Islamic world would say, “Inshallah.” (God-willing.)

HEADLINES:

• A New War (Atlantic)

• U.S. Bombs Key Nuclear Sites in Iran (NYT)

• Israel says it killed veteran Iran commander as both sides attack (Reuters)

• Trump’s Rebuke of Gabbard Signals an Uneasy Moment (NYT)

• Brad Lander’s Stand (Atlantic)

• Texas looks to enact restrictions on when and how students can protest (WP)

• Hundreds of Voice of America reporters fired as Trump guts outlet (BBC)

• Reporters for Voice of America and other U.S. networks fear what's next (NPR)

• How My Reporting on the Columbia Protests Led to My Deportation (New Yorker)

• A Retired Brigadier General Slams Trump’s Military Power Grab (Reveal)

• ‘Authoritarian playbook’: DHS accuses critics of assaulting officers when videos say otherwise (Guardian)

• Trump and GOP’s tax bill would sell off USPS’s brand-new EVs (WP)

• Trump admin shortens ACA enrollment window (Axios)

• Administration to phase out NIH support of HIV clinical guidelines (WP)

• Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker’s killing was ‘prepper’ preparing ‘for war’ (Guardian)

• Abandoned by Trump, a farmer and a migrant search for a better future (WP)

• Japan scraps US meeting after Washington demands more defence spending (Financial Times)

• The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting — Artificial intelligence is ideally suited to replacing the very type of person who built it. (Atlantic)

• Lonely? Call your AI best friend. (WP)

• Allergic Swelling Leaves Kristi Noem’s Face Completely Recognizable (The Onion)