By Sanxuan
The新一轮中东 conflict is about to reach two weeks, and Iran still refuses to cease hostilities, which has made Trump very anxious.
His anxiety is mainly reflected in his incoherent statements. In the morning, he said there were hardly any targets left in Iran to bomb, and it was time to stop the war; in the afternoon, he said the war against Iran would not end immediately, although the US had already "won."
Trump: The US has won again
It's no wonder netizens mock that whatever decision Trump makes depends on who spoke to him last. Looking at his current performance, his ability to think logically is on par with Biden's end of term, just blurting out anything without caring whether it conflicts with previous statements.
Whether from internal or external environment, Trump is eager for a ceasefire. Rising oil prices have threatened the midterm elections of the Republicans. If military casualties and war costs continue to rise, the Republicans will almost certainly lose the election. Some media even predict whether the US might fall into another "win first, then lose" Vietnam War scenario.
At the same time, the US military's inability to overthrow the Iranian regime through force is tearing off the last layer of pretense of the United States. Previously, the US military could achieve quick victories in a short period through advanced weapons and spending like water.
American public calls for an end to the war
Now, however, the US cannot even defeat Iran, a non-first-rate military power, and money is spent as usual, but the results are minimal, except for killing many Iranian civilians. According to preliminary statistics, within the first six days of the US-Iran war, the US spent over $11.3 billion, a level far exceeding the budget set before the war.
Trump has always hated getting the US involved in long overseas wars, and he has criticized his predecessors for this many times. Now he himself is following the same path as his predecessors, which really upsets him.
After all, the American presidents who started the Gulf War didn't expect to fight for so long. Starting a war is often easy, but the opportunity to stop it at any time is rare.
This is also the current situation in the Middle East. The death of Khamenei made Iranians realize that if they can't strike the enemy hard, tragedies will repeat themselves again and again. A war that causes great losses but hurts the enemy effectively is much more useful than several small skirmishes that don't hurt much.
Iran refuses to cease fire
In their latest statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps clearly stated their goal is to wage a war of attrition, destroy the US and global economy, weaken the military capabilities of the US and Israel, and prevent them from invading Iran at will in the future.
Iranian President Pezeshkian also proposed three conditions for a ceasefire: paying war reparations, ensuring Iran's legitimate rights as a sovereign state, and providing security guarantees for Iran.
These three demands contain a large amount of information. First of all, generally speaking, the party that pays war reparations is assumed to be the defeated party, and especially the one that initiated the war first.
Secondly, if the US acknowledges Iran's legitimate rights, it can no longer arbitrarily sanction Iran, and Iran has the right to peacefully use nuclear energy.
Iranian President Pezeshkian
Finally, the international community cannot provide permanent and thorough security guarantees for Iran, just as the US and Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine's future.
Since the US cannot meet these three demands, there is no hope for a ceasefire in the short term. With only these current losses, it is not enough to make Trump lose the midterm elections. Only by burning the flames of the Middle East a bit more, will the anger of American voters ignite fiercely.
Trump has been reckless before, but this time he needs to pay for his recklessness.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7616196533175730726/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.