[Text/Observer Network Liu Chenghui] The current Israeli-Iranian conflict has entered a critical moment. In addition to the publicly released messages, the internal movements of the Trump administration have also attracted close attention.

The Washington Post reported on June 18 that when US President Trump was weighing whether to launch a military action against Iran, Defense Secretary Hekseth and National Intelligence Director Gabard were excluded from the core decision-making circle. The report described that although the two had been frequently active in the public eye before, this time when Trump dealt with the Iranian crisis, he relied more on experience than "star power".

NBC reported on June 19 that Gabard's "marginalization" was confirmed. The report believed that it also reflected the cracks openly existing within Trump's "MAGA" coalition: some supporters advocated that no matter what kind of military action Israel took against Iran, the United States should stand by Israel; others believed that intervention would go against the "America First" concept.

"The president's position changes too quickly, making it hard for people to keep up."

This year, when Trump formed his national security core team, two nominations drew widespread attention from the US Congress and media: National Intelligence Director candidate Gabard and Defense Secretary candidate Hekseth. These two gained much attention not because of their administrative experience but because they were frequently seen on Fox News criticizing the so-called "deep state" and became well-known.

Although their nominations were eventually narrowly approved by the Senate, now, when Trump faces perhaps the most significant moment of his presidency - whether to join Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities - Gabard and Hekseth have failed to play major roles in the core decision-making circle.

Despite the denial from Gabard and Hekseth's spokespersons that they were not involved in presidential decisions, according to current and former US officials and those close to the White House, Trump is currently relying more on a small group of relatively low-profile but experienced assistants at this time. A White House external advisor said that Trump's "first-tier" decision-making team includes Vice President Vance, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kane, Secretary of State Rubio, and CIA Director Ratcliffe.

This four-person team is assisting Trump in deciding whether to use America's unique weapons to strike Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. Since June 13, Israel has bombed several Iranian nuclear facilities but has not destroyed the uranium enrichment facilities deeply buried in Fordo and Natanz. The report said that if the US intervenes, it will not only trigger a new Middle East war but may also provoke Iran's retaliation against US military bases and disrupt the global economy.

Regarding whether to join Israel's military action against Iran, Trump has been keeping the world guessing, giving no definite words, swinging between "diplomatic resolution" and "war threat." For example, he posted on social media on June 17, demanding that Iran "surrender unconditionally," but the next day he said he had not yet decided whether to approve the strike on Iran.

"The president's position changes too quickly, making it hard for people to keep up," said Jack Reed, Democratic leader of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I'm sure when he said 'I want Iran to surrender unconditionally' at one o'clock in the morning, he didn't call for advice from advisors. This is one of the problems."

The Washington Post mentioned that Trump, who often acted on intuition, lacked the support system many previous presidents depended on when dealing with crises. Last month, the White House dismissed many professional staff members of the National Security Council, which was originally responsible for coordinating various security departments to provide options for the president. After Trump removed Waltz as National Security Advisor in early May, this position is now held by Rubio.

Trump also drastically cut spending on other government agencies, including the State Department and foreign broadcasting systems. As a result, when tensions escalated between Israel and Iran, Voice of America urgently recalled about 75 employees, mostly from the Persian language department.

"Trump has been dissatisfied with Gabard for a long time."

According to insiders, after Gabard and her Office of the Director of National Intelligence were involved in a series of public controversies, Trump has become dissatisfied with her in recent months.

On June 19, NBC also disclosed that Gabard was marginalized when Trump's administration discussed the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

The report cited several senior government officials familiar with the situation, stating that Gabard, as an outspoken critic of past American overseas military interventions, seemed to have fallen out of favor with the president when Trump weighed taking military action against Iran.

Gabard's allies insisted that despite some tense atmosphere in the White House, some of the negative reactions publicly disclosed were exaggerated. None of the interviewees believed that she would leave the government due to the president's Iran policy.

The report believed that it also reflected the cracks openly existing within Trump's "MAGA" coalition: some supporters advocated that no matter what kind of military action Israel took against Iran, the United States should stand by Israel; others believed that intervention would go against the "America First" concept.

Gabard, who served in Iraq for a long time, has long advocated avoiding war. On June 10, Gabard posted a video on social media showing her visit to Hiroshima, Japan, describing the horror of nuclear war: "Today we are closer to nuclear destruction, and political elites continue to incite fear and nuclear confrontation."

Just as Trump and his advisors were assessing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's plan to attack Iran, this video infuriated Trump. According to an outside advisor, Trump questioned Gabard face-to-face at a meeting in the White House: "I watched that video, and I don't like it."

In March, during a congressional hearing, Gabard stated that the intelligence community assessed that although Iran had made progress in uranium enrichment, it had not restarted its nuclear weapons program since 2003. This statement was consistent with the intelligence assessment. However, when asked by the media on June 17, Trump said bluntly: "I don't care what she says, I think Iran is very close to having nuclear weapons."

Gabard later told reporters that she and the president were in agreement, and her position was temporarily safe. Vance also defended her, saying: "She is an indispensable member of our national security team, and we thank her for her efforts to ensure national security."

Olivia Coleman, press secretary of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said: "Gabard is focused on providing accurate and reliable intelligence to the president, clearing deep state forces, and ensuring the safety and freedom of the American people."

At a closed-door meeting on Israel and Iran issues held at Camp David on June 8, CIA Director Ratcliffe and his aides provided Trump with updates on Middle Eastern intelligence. As an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, Gabard was on reserve duty at that time and did not attend the Camp David meeting.

Ratcliffe's analysis of Iran's nuclear program was pessimistic, aligning more closely with Trump's stance.

According to insiders, he used American football as a metaphor at a closed-door hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee: "Saying Iran hasn't decided to build a nuclear bomb is like saying a team has advanced 99 yards and reached the 1-yard line, then saying 'they don't want to score.'"

"Trump bypassed Hekseth's team."

The report also said that as the US sent more troops to the Middle East to protect Israel and guard against Iranian counterattacks, and might begin using bunker-buster bombs against Iran's deeply buried nuclear facilities, Trump relied more on two four-star generals - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kane and US Central Command Commander Kurilla than Defense Secretary Hekseth.

However, Pentagon chief spokesman Parnell rejected the claim that Hekseth was marginalized, calling it "completely wrong."

In a statement, he said: "The defense secretary talks to the president multiple times every day and accompanies the president into the Situation Room multiple times this week. He will continue to work diligently to support the president's 'peace through strength' strategy."

However, two current US officials said that Kurilla and Kane had taken the lead in discussing military options with Trump, effectively bypassing Hekseth and his team at the Pentagon to a large extent. One official said: "No one talked to Hekseth. There was no interaction between Hekseth and the White House in actions."

US officials said that Kurilla consistently supported a tough stance on Iran, which had previously supported militia groups in launching multiple attacks on US troops in the Middle East, including a drone attack last year in Jordan that killed three US soldiers. However, one of the US officials said that Kurilla did not lean toward either side on whether to strike Iran but presented the president with a wide range of options.

A Defense Department official said that Kane also presented the president with the impact of different intervention scenarios and focused on possible secondary and follow-up effects. "He focuses on the present and values the future equally."

An insider revealed that Hekseth was initially quite involved when he first became defense secretary, but with the occurrence of the "group chat incident" and concerns over leaks and distrust of the Pentagon, he gradually distanced himself from substantive policy matters.

By contrast, according to external advisors, Rubio got along well with other members of the president's inner circle and was "very respectful" to Trump.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7517640134292963903/

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On June 12, Hekseth (nearby) and Kane attended a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. The Washington Post

On March 25, Gabard (center) attended a hearing of the US Senate Intelligence Committee. Visual China