Artemis II was a needed reminder of that which can unify us. I didn’t see red/blue division in the crowds that gathered around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, or adjacent to NASA in Houston, or on barstools the media flashed during the 6:35pm ET launch. Four astronauts on a 10-day mission to the Dark Side of the Moon… inspiring, unifying, and hopefully they’ll listen to the album while en route.
The sense of unity was short-lived and ended at 9pm ET when President Trump spoke to the nation from the White House about war with Iran. The reactions were predictable. The speech? It was one he should have given when starting the war a month ago. My biggest takeaway is that it revealed the President’s recognition of American impatience. I doubt it did anything to move the needle of public opinion and the futures markets are not reacting kindly. On air yesterday, I speculated with Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, and political observer Mark Halperin, as to what the President would say. Specifically, I wondered whether he would scale back his goals in Iran or send in the troops? Admiral Stavridis said he thought the President would declare Iran to be “the greatest military victory in the history of the United States, far surpassing our accomplishments in WWII or any other previous war.” Stavridis doubted he’d announce a mission to seize control of Iran’s enriched uranium. Bottom line, he thought Trump would declare victory and set up departure. Mark Halperin said he thought Trump would announce that the war will end soon, but that there would be escalation before an actual ending. He also noted that Iran is currently hitting Israel harder than it has in the war previously, and Mark argued that even if the war ends with Iran’s same regime in place (albeit different leaders), and with Iran still controlling enriched uranium, and with the Strait of Hormuz closed, there is nevertheless “a strong argument that the war was worth it.” Please watch both Stavridis and Halperin on my YouTube channel.
So, the President spoke for about 20 minutes. To Admiral Stavridis’ point, he claimed that never in the history of warfare had an enemy suffered such a huge defeat in a matter of weeks. He made the case for war against Iran, cast shade on President Obama, claimed success with Operation Midnight Hammer last June, and then addressed Iran’s nuclear ambition which caused him to act:
“They were also rapidly building a vast stockpile of conventional ballistic missiles and would soon have had missiles that could reach the American homeland, Europe and virtually any other place on Earth… They were right at our doorstep.”
And what has this military campaign done about that? Trump said:
“Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their missiles are just about used up or beaten. Taken together, these actions will cripple Iran’s military, crush their ability to support terrorist proxies, and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb.”
As for what’s to come, Trump promised: “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages.”
But I thought the most interesting part of the speech was a bit of a lament.
“It’s very important that we keep this conflict in perspective. American involvement in World War I lasted one year, seven months and five days. World War II lasted for three years, eight months and 25 days. The Korean War lasted for three years, one month and two days. The Vietnam War lasted for 19 years, five months and 29 days. Iraq went on for eight years, eight months and 28 days. We are in this military operation, so powerful, so brilliant against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days.”
Trump knows Americans don’t have patience. He said as much earlier in the day at an Easter lunch.
Pretty interesting. The President, known for impatience and impulsivity, suggesting he’s one with more tolerance for seeing this war to the end. Whether we’re now closer to escalation or an ending is today’s poll question. What might an escalation look like? Probably one of three options: Taking Kharg Island; freeing the Strait of Hormuz or seizing the enriched uranium. But Marco Rubio posted 4 objectives via State Department social media. Rubio says the objectives are clear: “destroy their air force, navy, missile factories, and degrade their missile launchers.” But notice what’s missing: nukes and protecting the Iranian protestors, not to mention the Strait of Hormuz.
I wish the President had taken Thomas Friedman’s advice. In the NYTimes, Friedman advanced a two-point plan: Iran gives up 950 pounds of nearly-bomb-grade enriched uranium and we give up any goal of regime change. If only it could be so simple.
Me, I’m still wanting us to win a war we probably should not have started.
SCOTUS thought. Trump yesterday was the first sitting president to attend an oral argument at the Supreme Court. The tone of the argument was not a surprise. His Executive Order overturning birthright citizenship won’t stand and will at best garner two supportive votes. But we should have been able to watch Trump and the justices on television. H/t to the late great Senator Arlen Specter who always championed cameras in the courtroom an issue. He was right.
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