I, like a lot of Americans, turned on my local NPR station yesterday morning to catch up with the news. One of the first things I listened to was an interview with retired General Joseph Votel, the former head of Central Command, Middle East, from 2016 to 2019. who was asked to assess the “so-called” ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. He was asked questions such as whether Trump’s litany of threats to the Iranian government harms U.S. credibility. Have the military objectives been met? And will the ceasefire hold?
His answers to these questions were a combination of a general dedicated to a mission, a political statement meant not to ruffle feathers, and wishful thinking that Trump has learned from his mistakes and will make more prudent choices moving forward. This is a dangerous combination for any American who believes that a kinder, gentler Trump will emerge from this latest crisis.
Trump Always Dupes the American Public
I believe that General Votel subscribes to the theory that many Americans do. This is, if Donald Trump says something, I think he really, really means it this time. When asked if the US. has met its mission objectives in Iran, the general replied, “Well, I think there’s no doubt that, you know, our forces under CENTCOM have done a lot of destruction, and we’ve been successful in certainly dismantling a lot of the regime’s military capabilities.”
What? Trump has thrown out four or five objectives, none of which have been realized. Then General Votel was asked if he thought the ceasefire would last. To this, he replied, “It provides a vehicle for, you know, getting this into the diplomatic arena, and we should hope that we can move forward from that. So, I’m hopeful, like many are, that this will provide a platform where we can get to some kind of enduring agreement.”
No ceasefire is going to hold when Israel bombed Hezbollah in Lebanon with 500 bombs last night. And due to this aggression, no oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz headed to American shores or anywhere else. The general fits the very definition of insanity. If something happens over and over again and you expect a different outcome… well, you know the rest.
Well-meaning Americans Fooled Daily by Trump
I think back to a time right before Trump’s second inauguration, about a conversation I had with two dear friends about their fears over MAGA2. These people are smart, well-educated, and very astute observers of geo-political developments. After I told them how worried I was about how much damage a Trump without guardrails could do to America and the world, their answer surprised and startled me.
They said that they had felt the same way until after their visit to Washington D.C. While there, they and some other folks met with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar about events of the day. When they asked her what the level of concern she had regarding a second Trump administration was, she said it will be bad, it’s the same old Trump, you know. But we are more prepared this time and are sure we can curb his excesses. I left our conversation thinking, “Did no one else read the Project 2025 document except me?”
Americans Are Easily Distracted
And sometimes it’s easier to just not think about it and concentrate on other things. On CNN this morning, they had a full 10-minute segment about how unpopular Melania Trump is. Now, I am no fan of Ms. Trump’s either, but with the war in Iran ongoing, the prices on everything rapidly rising, and a partial government shutdown well into its fifth week, is the Melanie story really “must-see news?
But maybe I’m the one who is howling at the moon. Yelling back at a screen that won’t ever respond. An old 70’s progressive that has been to one too many rallies. This very well may be the case. But I don’t think so.
