Iran: New Questions
Whatever you think about bombing Iran, things have changed big time.
First, three observations you would not expect from me.
Whatever your opinion of the USA bombing Iran, the USA’s military capabilities are confirmed as absolutely amazing. The B-52 Stealth bomber is beyond the imagination of science fiction writers. Whereas, Russia has shown the world that its military capabilities are in dissaray, the USA has shown the opposite.
Whatever your opinion of the USA bombing Iran, this is the first time that Donald Trump has been truly presidential with his decision making and his speeches. His social media stuff is still a hot mess but this specific handling of a huge decision by the Commander in Chief has been professional. (To be clear, he ain’t looking good at all when it comes to everything else. His approval ratings are collapsing for good reasons.)
Whatever your opinion of the USA bombing Iran, the USA has done a terrible job of bringing peace to the Middle East for sixty years. Trump’s approach is scary as hell but the risk/reward calculus might be what it takes to get all of the countries in the Middle East motivated towards solving their unrest once and for all. Israel and Iran are both feeling tremendous pressure to resolve their differences. That was not true two weeks ago.
It appears that Iran's nuclear weaponization capabilities have been set back by a few months, maybe more. Maybe for many years. Nobody knows for sure. Israel's formal assessment statements do not match credible reporting from major American news sources.
Regardless, I gotta ask a two-part question: Has Trump turned Iran into a nation that is ready to stop its nuclear ambitions and get itself back into the community of nations in the developed world? Or, is Iran more motivated than ever before to make sure that it's leverage in the world is built on a foundation of nuclear weapons?
Iran is a nation where the leaders are despised, but also feared, by their citizens. It is a worst-case example of what a nation becomes when the autocracy becomes permanently entrenched.
So, one more question - this one is political. Is the USA on track to become more like Iran or is Iran on track to become more like the USA?
Only time will tell.