As if the Trump administration didn’t have enough problems to tackle, rising tensions with Iran have escalated matters perhaps untenably. First, an attack left two international oil tankers burning, with the U.S. pointing fingers at Iran. Later, Iran shot down an American military drone. This bold act set the stage for the military industrial complex to finally wad their pockets with a hot war.
Unfortunately for them, President Trump issued a last-minute abort. According to an interview he gave with Meet the Press, Trump didn’t like the potential casualty count, calling it extreme. Instead, the U.S. cyber command inflicted a digital assault on organizations possibly linked to the oil tanker attacks. Unusually, it’s a measured response from the U.S. military industrial complex, which is chomping at the bit.
Don’t expect this dynamic to continue.
Currently, we’re very short on facts. We really don’t know if the drone was flying in international airspace or not. It’s also possible that the Iranians acted in self-defense. Mainstream news outlets are going with the Pentagon’s version of the story, particularly conservative media. This is where things get interesting for the Trump administration.
Optically, the situation looks terrible for the Trump administration. The former real-estate mogul made it a point in his campaign to blast the Obama administration for weakening America. Here, it appears that Trump is putting American interests aside, and cowering down from Iranian and Russian warnings.
Military Industrial Complex Angling for War
Unsurprisingly, a rift now exists between the White House and significant numbers within the military hierarchy.
Although Iran didn’t inflict human casualties, the drone was an expensive one. Conflicting reports about the cost cloud matters, but despite the variance, one thing is clear: the drone was more expensive than a costly F-35 fighter jet.
Plus, we have the tricky matter that Iran shot down a military asset (supposedly). Whatever the reality is, the media has reported the incident as such. Worse in terms of optics, the White House does not deny those reported details. Thus, America looks weak, arguably much weaker than it did during President Obama’s administration.
Logically, the military industrial complex will be angling for war. Multiple factors indicate this outside of the drone shootdown. Primarily, Iran is located at the heart of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil-shipping lane for the international community. With Iran threatening to disrupt the Strait, oil prices can escalate in a hurry.
Second, Trump has aligned himself deeply with Saudi Arabia and Israel, two nations aggressively calling for war against Iran. It’s a highly doubtful that Trump alone can keep the peace. Look at what happened to JFK.