chapotraphouse

Radlibs would eat me for saying that because they're enjoying some kind of bs "I told you so" despite still having fits over even the slightest criticism of Ukraini and Zelensky (despite their darling being openly a rabid zionist who said he wants to turn Ukraine to the Eastern European Israel and transform the country into a US aligned arms manufacturing haven) but it genuinely doesn't seem like Trump fully wanted direct involvement.

Libs just love piling up shit on hated figures without any regard for accuracy. Trump is a NY jetset high lifestyle irreligious libertarian who gets his most massive ego boosts from doing stuff that show off his swag, hustling, deal making skills i.e. showing off his CEO smarts. He's got company boss "you're fired" and "I'm the boss and I get to tell you what to do" authoritarianism, not the classic yankee army loving gung ho militarist authoritarianism type. His entire world view is about business and sees foreign policy and diplomacy more like deals and personal discussions with other country CEOs and doesn't have a single clue about impersonal socioeconomic forces. It's not super unrealistic specifically for him because he can go directly talk with the heads of industry and do direct dealings with the other bougies, he doesn't find it scandalous at all because he doesn't seem to think he's a politician now.

So I don't think he really wanted to get involved, and even as an AIPAC creature I don't think he sees the existence of Israel as some kind of ideological or religious priority, it's all about how much it costs for him. But he definitely doesn't seem to be able to overcome his ego if it gets bruised, or when he gets duped by Bibi or when he feels he has to follow orders etc. More like "don't make me look like a powerless loser and I'll just do this one showoffish strike and we're done".

The attack on Fordow probably didn't even break windows, he absolutely knew it would be ineffective and it seems more like theatre and like "okay I did a strike, it's the best we can do, now stfu already Bibi because going any harder at it will make it a regional war and we can't afford that and supplying Israel at the same time, pick one". And just did that to get out of the pressure.

His original plan was almost definitely based on bs intel from Israel and neo-interventionist zionist goons he has around him all supposedly expecting Iran would fold right away, saw the trap, couldn't get out due to internal politics so pick a theatrical action that (unverified) preannounced to Iran to make sure the retaliation would also be symbolical and won't be pressured to escalate just to save face.

Now he's overselling the strike while lowkey desperately asking for ceasefire but in a grandiose grandstanding way to hide that any further involvement in the region would get the US armed forces constantly removedslapped in a PR nightmare, with terrible logistics, risking completely losing both Iraq and Jordan to the eastern bloc etc.

It's not that Trump cares about peace or something, he cares about getting clean, fast wins by coming up with some business style grift order sent to underlings and any further escalation is not going to be clean, fast or a win. I don't know why libs are so damn blind, his whole vibe in general and about this specifically is transparent as hell.