***. ‘..psychiatrist Prudence L. Gourgueschon, a former president of the American Psycoanalytic Association, proposed judging Trump’s fitness for office using the United States Army Field Manual on developing leaders. She distilled..five crucial qualities needed to lead: – Trust -Discipline and self-control – Judgment and critical thinking -Self-awareness – Empathy. Not one of these is part of Trump’s nature.” [Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston: “It’s Even Worse Than You Think”].
WHY did the United States go to war with Iran? What decision-making processes were conducted? WHO were the key people voicing opinions? WHO pushed for war? WHO voiced caution, and or, opposition to war?
This post presents excerpts from: “Behind The Scenes. As Trump Took U.S. To War With Iran”. [Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman; New York times; 4/12/26 ]: [NOTE: this might be THE article on those and other crucial questions. If YOU want to know more about WHY America is at war – then this article is a MUST read]
8] “But Trump would often seem to hear only what he wanted to hear.”
1]. “This account of how Trump took the United States into war reveals how the deliberations inside the administration highlighted the president’s instincts, his inner circle’s fractures and the way he runs the White House…And it shows how, in the end, even the more skeptical members of Trump’s war cabinet..deferred to the president’s instincts, including his abundant confidence that trhe war would be quick and decisive.”
5] “The CIA director used one word to describe the Israeli prime minister’s regime change scenarios: “farcical.” At that point, Rubio cut in. “In other words, it’s bullshit,” he said Several others jumped in, including Vance, just back from Azerbaijan, who also expressed strong skepticism about the prospect of regime change.”
*** “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” [ Isaac Asimov ]
13] “Tucker Carlson..had come to the Oval Office several times over the previous year to warn Trump that a war with Iran would destroy his presidency…”I know you’re worried about it, but it’s going to be OK,” the president said. Carlson asked how he knew. “Because it always is,” Trump replied.”
11]. “In front of his colleagues, Vance warned Trump that a war against Iran could cause regional chaos and untold numbers of casualties…Vance raised other concerns, too. As vice president, he was aware of the scope of America’s munitions problem…that no amount of military insight could truly gauge what Iran would do in retaliation when the survival of the regime was at stake. Moreover, he thought there seemed to be little chance of building a peaceful Iran in the aftermath.”
12]. “Beyond all of this was perhaps the biggest risk of all: Iran held the advantage when it came to the Strait of Hormuz. if this narrow waterway carrying vast quantities of oil and natural gas was choked off, the domestic consequences in the United states would be severe, starting with higher gas prices.”
***. “The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears tobe one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.” [ Robert Lynd ]
2] “Netanyahu and his team outlined conditions they portrayed as pointing to almost certain victory: Iran’s ballistic missile program could be destroyed in a few weeks. the regime would be so weakened that it could not choke off the Strait of Hormuz, and the likelihood that Iran would land blows against U.S. interests in neighboring countries was assesses as minimal….Besides…..” [read this again. it appears to have had a decisive impact on Trump – how much have real events shown this to be accurate?]
3]. “The intelligence officials had deep expertise in U.s. military capabilities, and they knew the Iranian system and its players inside out. They had broken down Netanyahu’s presentation into four parts. First was decapitation – killing the ayatollah. Second was crippling Iran’s power to project power and threaten its neighbors. third was a popular uprising inside Iran. And fourth was regime change, with a secular leader installed to govern the country. The U.S. officials assessed that the first two objectives were achievable…They assessed that the third and fourth parts of Netanyahu’s pitch…were detached from reality.”
6] “The president then turned to to Caine, “General, what do you think?” Caine replied, “sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling.”
*** “Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. but if you must be without one. Be without the strategy.” [ General Norman Schwarzkopf ]
7] “As the small team of advisors who were lopped into the plans deliberated over the following days, Caine shared with Trump and others the alarming military assessment that a major campaign against Iran would drastically deplete stockpiles of U.S. weaponry. Caine saw no clear path to quickly replenishing these stockpiles. He also flagged the enormous difficulty of securing the Strait of Hormuz and the risks of Iran blocking it. Trump had dismissed that possibility on the assumption that the regime would capitulate before it came to that. The president appeared to think it would be a very quick war.” [NOTE: read this again – WHO is correct? WHO is working from data and rational thinking – and WHO is working from assumptions and wishful thinking???]
9] “Back in office for a second term, Trump’s confidence in the U.S. military’s abilities had only grown. he was especially emboldened by the spectacular commando raid to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro…Within the Cabinet, Hegseth was the biggest proponent of a military campaign against Iran…Rubio, however, did not try to talk Trump out of the operation.”
10] “Nobody in Trump’s inner circle was more worried about the prospect of war with Iran, or did more to try to stopit, than the vice president…..he had described a war with Iran as “a huge distraction of resources” and “massively expensive..”…..What the vice president pushed for was a limited, punitive strike…thought a regime change war with Iran would be a disaster. His preference was for no strikes at all.”
14]. The final situation room meeting of February 26. Read the account of this meeting, the column under “I think we need to do it.” Participants say nothing of significance against war. They leave EVERYTHING up to Trump’s judgment. Which is most unfortunate. – because numerous psychiatrists, mental health experts, historians, analysts, largely agree. – “judgment and critical thinking”. – is something Trump DOES NOT have.
[NOTE: – remember this: “…the notion, that his team is working to protect him from himself, has since become one of the defining narratives of the Trump administration…President Trump should not be shocked that wary aides and cabinet members saved his presidency..many times.” [Anonymous – a senior Trump administration official: “A Warning”. – BUT – this was in the FIRST Trump term. – NOT the second, filled with “loyalists” ]
*** “While discussing “Fear’. on television, I was asked for my bottom-line summary of Trump’s leadership. “Let’s hope to God we don’t have a crisis, I said.” [ Pulitzer Prize winner bob Woodward in “Rage” ]
With Justice For All 