To read the full text of the podcast and the links to thequoted materials, please see:
https://erm76.substack.com/p/trump-hegseth-and-the-gang-meet-thucydides
Trump is threatening, once again, to bomb Iran unless itsleaders agree to his peace plans. Not the plan of the United States—but his. It’s as though it’s his personal battle without the appropriate consultation with Congress. But one has to show bravado in these situations, per the chicken-hawk manual.
And we should never have been here in the first place. Trumpwithdrew from an existing treaty with Iran that focused on forestalling the development of a nuclear device. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also called the Iran nuclear deal, drafted during President Obama’s Administration, was designed to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It was a multinational agreement, and despite Trump’s claims that there should have been more safeguards, such as the elimination of sunset dates for certain provisions and curtailing missile development, many experts thought it was a success.
Incompetence Magnified
The Trump Administration’s incompetence is just striking.And if President Trump, Secretary Hegseth and others only read history, the US may never have started down this path but opted for negotiations to strengthen a reformulated nuclear deal. Some key points.
1. Develop a coalition force rather than one only fronted bythe US and Israel.
2. The US was not prepared to contend with Iran’s asymmetricwarfare plans, such as its use of drones. The Trump Administrations should have read Seven Pillars of Wisdom by TE Lawrence.
3. Hegseth recently campaigned for a primary candidateopposing Representative Massie. Military leaders, including the Secretary of Defense, are supposed to abstain from political and partisan activities.
4. The Administration should have read about the Punic Warand its implications. The same scenario plays out for reading Thucydides about the Peloponnesian War.
So, what lessons could Trump and Hegseth have learned byreading about ancient wars? While you may claim victory and that a war is almost, if not entirely, over, the country you’re fighting might not agree.