U.S. media expose: Trump ignored advice from those around him, was misled by Israel's promises, and stubbornly insisted on attacking Iran.
Trump may find it hard to shift the blame for "reckless military action against Iran" onto his subordinates.
On the 7th, The New York Times released another report exposing some inside details about Trump's undeclared war on Iran.
In short, during Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the White House in mid-February, he showed Trump a promotional video. The video claimed that Iran is now extremely vulnerable; if Qasem Soleimani (Hajj Hameini) could be eliminated, the current regime in Iran would collapse, and Kurdish forces would rise up in support.
The report states that Trump showed great interest in Netanyahu’s vision, though initially he remained cautious, instructing the military, CIA, and State Department to assess the feasibility of the plan—however, predictably, all three agencies concluded that Netanyahu’s plan was unworkable.
Then came the turning point. Faced with unanimous opposition from the CIA, State Department, and military, Trump persisted in believing Netanyahu’s plan was viable, citing Iran’s relatively mild reaction after being bombed by the U.S. and Israel last year—as a justification. His stance received strong backing from U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth.
Thus, driven by his own stubbornness, Trump convened another White House crisis meeting on February 26. Attendees including Vance, Rubio, Susan Wells, Dan Caine (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), and John Ratcliffe (CIA Director) chose to comply with Trump’s wishes—despite their reservations—to avoid provoking him, ultimately endorsing military action against Iran, which led directly to the outbreak of war.
In sum, The New York Times’ exposé makes one thing clear: Trump’s decision to attack Iran wasn’t merely due to Netanyahu’s manipulation or Hegseth’s encouragement—it was primarily driven by Trump’s own arrogance. Despite knowing that both military and intelligence agencies unanimously opposed the move, he still proceeded recklessly.
This pattern of impulsive, headstrong decision-making has become almost routine in Trump’s administration. Didn’t last year’s trade war follow the same logic? Trump suddenly announced global tariff increases—no exception even for uninhabited islands home only to penguins.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861899203753036/
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