“We’re going to win so much, you may even get tired of winning!” So said candidate Donald Trump at an April, 2016 rally in Albany, New York. It was a classic Trump line and a theme he would often repeat. Today’s poll question reminds of that brag in the context of war. Here we are three weeks into confrontation with Iran. Militarily, things are going well. (Yes, the Strait of Hormuz is a huge conundrum.) But politically, with the son of the Supreme Leader now in charge and there has been no revolt by the Iranian people who might be too scared to stage an uprising. They are fighting an asymmetrical battle which will be hard to end with finality. So are we winning the war? Vote at Smerconish.com.
Speaking of my poll questions, I was shocked by Saturday’s result. More than 66,000. (In the early 70’s, when my father would take my brother and me to watch the Eagles from the nosebleeds, the seating capacity at Veteran’s Stadium was 65,352. I often envision vote totals by venues I’ve frequented. 2,000 is the old Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, 17,007 for the Flyers at the old Spectrum, and so forth.) More surprising than the huge vote was the outcome. On the question of “Should opinions on the war in Iran transcend one’s views of President Trump”, 63.99% said “Yes”. I expected the reverse. The hat tip is to David Boies who will join me on radio today to discuss his recent essay in the Wall Street Journal under the headline “Partisanship on Iran is Dangerous for America”.
I agree with Boies. I still question how we got here – now – but as I said on CNN on Saturday, doing the right thing, even for the wrong reason, is still doing the right thing.
On Iran, there is one more perspective I recommend. It is that of Richard Clarke, who advised three U.S. Presidents on national security and was the nation’s first cyber czar. Find it published exclusively in today’s newsletter. I hope he will join me on radio on Tuesday. Here’s a taste:
“It is not just oil that moves through the Gulf, but a parade of some of the world’s largest ships, liquid natural gas (LNG) tankers from Qatar. I have, while consulting for LNG companies in the US and for communities seeking to prevent LNG shipping facilities from being built nearby, learned that while LNG does not explode in the technical sense, it can create large flares with great destructive power. LNG tankers have double hulls and safety-conscious designs, but were one to ignite, it would devastate whatever was near.
“My personal experiences and recent analyses lead me to believe that combat in the Gulf is like playing catch with lit torches in a chemistry lab. Things are going to go badly. Things are going to blow up, expensive things, things that are hard to replace quickly. Trying to protect oil and gas facilities and ships against a determined foe is a highly difficult task.”
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