Back in March, the Trump regime claimed it had defeated Iran “in the first hour.”
Now, with the war about to enter its seventh month, the regime is launching a new economic squeeze campaign and appears in no particular hurry to wrap things up.
The United States is “low-keying it” and “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, Donald Trump says.
“The president is playing the long game,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright says.
“We’re in a new phase … this is a delicate dance,” Vice President JD Vance says.
So, please, media, let’s not make a big deal over an ongoing war that has put 50,000 U.S. troops in harm’s way, killed 18 of them, wounded more than 750 others, jacked up gas prices, and cost taxpayers an estimated $100 billion. Trump would rather focus on new topsoil on the White House grounds and note that “if you’re grass, you’re very happy.”
Members of the military, not being grass, are unhappy. Sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln were so distressed over a lack of supplies and their long deployment in the Middle East that some of them tried to jump overboard. Yet when a reporter told Trump that military families were concerned about conditions on the Lincoln, he said: “No, they’re not.”
Trump is dangerously detached from reality, and his comments work against any resolution of the fiasco. He keeps saying, ridiculously, that he wants to make the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States.” And he has threatened to “bomb the shit out of” Oman – our ally – if it “gets in the way.”
Trump obviously wishes mainstream media would put coverage of the war on the back-burner. But responsible outlets are not complying, even though the Pentagon is playing games with the casualty toll and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been ducking reporters as if they were Iranian drones.
The regime’s desire to suppress the facts was evident with its assault on Stars & Stripes, the news outlet tasked with informing members of the military and their families. Stars & Stripes is under the Pentagon’s authority but has a long tradition of editorial independence in order to maintain credibility with its audience. Last week, the Trump regime blew that up, firing key journalists after they reported on the USS Abraham Lincoln and other problems with the conduct of the war.
Trump’s media suck-ups have fallen in line. Fox News host Sean Hannity had only one extensive discussion of the war between July 23 and last Wednesday, according to Media Matters for America. Hannity broke that drought by absurdly claiming that Trump should get more “credit” for the triumphant outcome in Iran.
While mainstream media’s coverage of the war has been fairly strong, Trump isn’t entirely irrational in hoping news outlets will eventually lose interest.
In his first term as president, the war in Afghanistan was a minor issue, overshadowed by other MAGA-fueled chaos and controversy. Trump managed to successfully shirk responsibility for the war even though it continued through all four years of his term and his dealings with the Taliban further destabilized the situation. He left the withdrawal to his successor, Joe Biden, and denounced him after a suicide bombing killed 13 U.S. service members during the pullout. But more than three times that number died during Trump’s first term while he was failing to end the war.
When we have a relatively cold war instead of a hot one, it can start to feel like the status quo – and therefore not particularly newsworthy. Economic warfare like that announced by the Trump regime on Monday is less flashy and immediate than cruise missile strikes. Some might even say “boring.”
But as in Afghanistan, the day-to-day situation in the Iran war is terrible, and it’s likely to keep deteriorating. Plus, Trump is using the current military disaster to get more taxpayer money for future military disasters.
As ProPublica reported last week: “President Donald Trump wants to spend $1.5 trillion on defense next year. Adjusted for inflation, that would be more than the U.S. spent annually on defense during the height of World War II.”
Let that sink in.
The news media often have a short attention span, but they need to stay focused this time.
This week’s media atrocity
Darline Graham was appointed to the Senate last month after her brother Lindsey’s death, and she’s seeking a full six-year term, with Trump’s endorsement. At a debate last week, Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren asked her: “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why?”
Graham replied: “I’m not that informed on national security … National security is not my thing.”
This caused an uproar, understandably. But Van Susteren and her Trump-toady network must have worried about upsetting the king, because Van Susteren denounced other media for focusing on the gaffe instead of “the other 19 questions.” And she added: “I wish I hadn’t asked that question.”
Pitiful.
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I tried to get a copy the 20 questions Greta asked during the debate and could not find them. Apparently they weren't published. Darlene Graham either showed excellent truthfulness that she didn't know anything about national security or remarkable stupidity admitting that national security wasn't her thing or both. All we need is another Republican Senator that doesn't care about national security. There are enough of them in the Senate as is!
Good Article!
Trump isn't getting the drubbing over the war he deserves because high gas prices remain the dominant hardship for most Americans. With voluntary armed forces, most Americans are detached from the dead and wounded. It's not like Vietnam when the little boy or girl next door grew up and got drafted to become another body bag. And Americans have never had a modern war on our own soil to drive home the horrors of bombing civilians. Hopefully if the public and media stay interested, Congress can put the brakes on this ridiculous war after the midterms.