PULKIT BUTTAN me-retweet
Why should Trump call Putin in the middle of a war, hours after Putin offered his 'unwavering support' for the new Iranian rahbar? The only reason I can think of is that Trump wants an off-ramp. The best way to understand how the Americans are fighting this war is to look at the statements issued by Trump and his Cabinet members. On Day 1, Trump wanted regime change. On Day 2, he said he had authorised talks; On Day 4, he wanted Kurds to join in (not he rules it out); On Day 5, he said Iran wanted a deal; On Day 6, he demanded "unconditional surrender"; On Day 7, he said Iran had "surrendered to its neighbours" and that he should be involved in the selection of the new rahbar; and on Day 10, after Iran chose a new rahbar, Marco Rubio listed three objectives--destroy Iran's missile launch capabilities; targeting their missile stockpiles and launchers; and destroy missile production facilities. Note: no regime change, no unconditional surrender, no talk about Iran's nuclear stockpile.
On the same day, Trump said the U.S. had already won the war. WSJ reports Trump advisers urge him to find an exit ramp. David Ignatius writes in The Post that the Israelis are worried about the escalation (Israel is being hit massively by the way and you won't see the satellite images--just go to Hebrew twitter). Trump can unilaterally declare victory and announce and end to attacks. But there is a problem. The Iranians also have a say in it. They launched retaliatory attacks even this morning. The Iranian position from Feb 28 has been consistent--no ceasefire, no talks, and no external intervention in the inner workings of the state. Trump really wants someone to talk to the Iranians so that there would be a mutual ceasefire. #WarOnIran
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