So far, the US has failed to achieve any objectives obviously worth the costs of the war. Iran is still unfriendly. Iran hasn’t agreed to any long-term commitments. They still have the ability to strike death and terror in the region and to damage the global economy.
If regime change or a long-term commitment is not going to be reached, then continuing to mow the lawn is likely not worth the costs, so it’s better to quit now than to take further costs. But, quitting now does mean the US failed in anything but destroying a bunch of stuff. Iran will quickly rebuild their drones and missiles and remain a terrorist state.
Trump’s tariffs haven’t much limited goods coming from China to the US because China just ships them through third-party countries. The administration talked about cracking down on this, but haven’t really done it.
“While the expansive aboveground complex has drawn most of the attention, Trump revealed during a recent Cabinet meeting that there was another motivation for the construction.
He told Cabinet members there was a national security component to the project that was “supposed to be secret” and the military “wanted it more than anybody.”
“It was supposed to be secret, but it became unsecret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things,” he said.
Shuffling through renderings of the project, Trump described the underground facility as having bulletproof glass and “drone-proof” roofs and ceilings.”
“About six months before the first U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, the Trump administration gutted the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR), an 80-person team within the State Department tasked with leading international energy diplomacy. The cuts were part of the then Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative to reduce the federal workforce, with the goal of slashing the federal budget.
More than a month into the conflict—with President Donald Trump indicating he will redouble attacks on Iran in the coming weeks—former ENR officials are warning DOGE eliminated key roles that would have helped the administration navigate and mitigate the energy chaos of the conflict and its impact on global oil markets, as well as foresee potential consequences of ongoing actions.
Fortune spoke with two former ENR officials—who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution from the department—who are sounding the alarm on the insights and knowledge the federal government has lost as a result of the cuts, especially during a period of widespread oil and energy disruptions.
“It’s shocking how poorly prepared the administration is,” one former employee told Fortune. “You took away the people with the expertise and contacts who would be insanely useful in this context.””
“In internal deliberations before the war’s launch, Hegseth had pointed to Iran’s muted reaction to Trump’s past attacks as evidence that calibrated force could impose costs on Tehran without triggering a broader war. Hegseth “was caught off guard. There’s no question,” says a person familiar with his thinking.”
If this is true, it is the height of incompetency. The US and Israeli attacks were not limited, they assassinated the leader of the country! The most likely response from Iran would be huge. Yet, the Trump administration seemed to have not expected this.
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it’s “not possible” for the federal government to fund Medicare, Medicaid and child care costs, arguing that it should be up to the states to “take care” of those programs while the federal government focuses on military spending.
The president’s remarks were delivered to attendees at a private Easter luncheon at the White House”
The US is paying out 1.2 million dollars in a case it won. This is corruption by the Trump administration–subverting the rule of law for a political ally.