OK, I’m going out on a limb here and might saw the doggone thing off standing on it. Or I might be right and seen as a prophet.
Donald (Cap’n Warp Speed) Trump is NOT going to join with Israel and attack Iran. My guess, for what it’s worth, is that he has looked at this situation logically and decided it’s not worth what it might cost. After all, he is an astute businessman who can read the signs as well as anyone. Better than me, I expect, at least he’s far richer and more powerful.
- Congress is moving rapidly (amazing, I know, but miracles do happen) to block Trump from unilaterally sending the troops (planes, bombs, missiles) in. After all, it is the constitutional responsibility of Congress to declare war, even though it has been woefully absent from the subject since the start of the Korean War. About time they put on their man pants and did what they are supposed to.
- Polls consistently show that an enormous amount of Americans, 75% or more, disapprove of getting involved in another “forever war”, which is what this one will become unless Iran is beaten thoroughly and quickly, which isn’t likely to happen. No, the tide of public opinion is against escalation.
- MAGA, Trump’s baby, will split and polarize if, IF, he jumps into the fray. Remember his promise when he was on the campaign trail? “I am the peace president.” “I will not start any new wars.” “I will end the war between Ukraine and Russia in one day.” Etc., etc., etc. Ad infinitum, ad nauseum, as Gary North would say. A very large percentage of those who supported him and voted for him took him at his word that America’s wars were going to end and that the country would benefit because of it. Yeah, right, that lasted just a few months until he started bombing Yemen and pushing the “Big, Beautiful Bill” which would give the Pentagon $1 trillion next year to spend on creating turmoil and mayhem. Er, I mean, defense of the American Dream.
- Trump is limited in his options:
- Go for the gusto. Hit Iran hard with everything he has at his disposal. What happens if that doesn’t work?
- Hit Iran with a limited strike, say, a “bunker buster” bomb or two dropped in the Fordo nuclear site. What happens if the plane, say a B-2, is somehow shot down and never reaches its target?
- What happens if Iran unleashes a salvo of missiles against American military bases in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Kuwait, among others? What happens if Iran simply closes down the Strait of Hormuz, which it can easily do, and causes the world price of oil to skyrocket to unprecedented, astronomical levels?
- What happens if Iran sends a missile against any one of the American aircraft carriers now congregating in the region? If one of these goes to the bottom, it will mean at least 5, 000 servicemen (women) (persons) lost and will immediately create a call to “nuke” Teheran, a densely populated city with at least 20 million people at risk. What happens to the image of America in world opinion if something like that happens? Not good, I am sure.
There is more. I have barely scratched the surface of the possibilities. Nevertheless, as a rational person and somehow (against the odds) of believing that Trump can act rationally, I have to believe that he will pull in his reins and slow this “steed” to a trot. My guess is that he will allow Israel and Iran to trade blows with each other, then bring up the idea of “negotiations” again. Of course, I do not have a great deal of confidence in his negotiations, which are, as follow:
“Let’s negotiate. You cannot have a nuclear weapon. Period. Ever. End of negotiation. You have sixty days to agree with this and obey. Otherwise, all hell will break out against you.”
Maybe I should reconsider my position.
Poor Roger's Almanac 
I hope you are right, and, of course, it is all logical. But even getting to the point of Israel attacking on the 13th (clearly with US involvement, whether or not Trump knew about it beforehand) was also irrational.
My concern: what do they have on Trump, or what are they holding over his head? Further, what of a false flag that “demands” a response? We know Israel is capable to do such things, no matter the cost.
Yes, Trump may not choose to do this. But he may not have a choice about it being done to him. The thing is, all he has to do is spill the beans on the backstory, and I think a large portion of the nation would rise up – maybe even to include his Christian Zionist supporters…well, maybe not them.
Wishful thinking on my part. I wrote this trying to think like Trump would logically, as if he were logical. Unfortunately, as you say, there is so much about him which is not logical and there is no telling what is hanging over his head. As far as “false flags” go, anything can happen at any time, so the best thing he could do (but probably won’t) is to minimize the possibilities by pulling the troops and ships out of the area completely. However, the longer he takes to make The Call, the more hope I have that it won’t be done. Two weeks is a long time in the heat of geo-politics, especially in a war zone.
As far as Christian Zionists go, I don’t have any confidence in them at all. Ninety-nine percent of the Middle East region could be turned into a radioactive cinder, but if Jerusalem escaped the carnage, they would find some way to bend the situation to their POV.
THERE ARE UNDERLYING REASONS behind this Middle East conflict and all that have preceded it since 1948 that neither Netanyahu, nor Trump, nor today’s Zionists will ever admit to.
IDENTITY CRISIS!
The following quotations (all of them from recognized Jewish authorities) have loads to say about the Zionists’ claims to alleged fulfilled prophecies and the never-ending Middle East conflicts:
“Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a ‘Jew’ or to call a contemporary Jew an ‘Israelite’ or a ‘Hebrew.’” (Richard Siegel and Carl Rheins, eds., “Identity Crisis,” The Jewish Almanac, (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980) p. 3.)
That sentence is the opening sentence of the First Chapter entitled “Identity Crisis” of the 1980 “Jewish Almanac.” That today’s Jews are not genetic Israelites is also admitted in “The Jewish Encyclopedia,” the “Encyclopedia Judaica,” “The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia,” “The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia,” and by many of their historians.
According to three Jewish encyclopedias and Flavius Josephus, the entire Edomite nation was forced into converting to Judaism and became known as Judahites at the time of the high priest John Hyrcanus (Maccabaeus):
“…in the days of John Hyrcanus (end of the second century B.C.E.) … the Edomites became a section of the Jewish people.” (“Edom,” Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica Company, 1971) Volume 6, p. 378.)
“They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation….” (“Edom, Idumea,” The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York & London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1904) Volume V, p. 41.)
“…from then on they constituted a part of the Jewish people, Herod [King of Judea] being one of their descendants.” (Cecil Roth and Geoffrey Wigoden, “Edom (Idumea),” The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977) p. 589.)
“…they submitted to the use of circumcision, and the rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time … they were hereafter no other than Jews.” (Flavius Josephus, “The Antiquities of the Jews,” Josephus, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960) Book XIII, Chapter IX, Verse 1, p. 279.)
We keep hearing that if we don’t bless the modern State of Israel (which America has been doing since at least 1948) that we will be cursed. However, it seems it’s been just the opposite, Since 1948, you name it, and there’s not an area in America wherein she hasn’t become worse off.
Could it because America has identified the wrong people as Israel. And today’s Jews are not the only ones with an identity crisis.
For more, listen to two-part audio series “Israel, Edom, and Ishmael: Three Keys to Understanding the Bible and Current Events,” beginning at https://missiontoisrael.org/tapelist.php#T1402
This series was preached at the beginning of Israel’s conflict with Hamas.
For more, see free online book “The Mystery of the Gentiles: Where Are They and Where Are They Now?” at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/mystery-of-gentiles/index.php
Don’t let the title of this book confuse you, it’s extremely pertinent to the what’s going on today in the Middle East.
Take our 10-question “In Defense of True Israel” Survey in the right-hand sidebar and receive a complimentary copy of the book “Israel’s Identity: It Matters!”
Thank you, Ted. This is a little bit of history I was not aware of.
You bet! Thanks for letting me post it.