Unending War

Last week, when a reporter asked US President Donald Trump whether America would enter the war on Iran with close ally Israel, he replied in his characteristic fashion: “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.” Now with his decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, Trump has taken a step he had long promised to avoid: military intervention in a significant foreign conflict.

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Throughout the campaign for his second presidency, Trump had repeatedly stated that the US should have nothing to do with foreign wars and that the billions of dollars that get spent in war efforts should be used to “Make America Great Again.”

The bold US strikes, which targeted Iran’s super secure nuclear facility, Fordow, located deep underground, represent the most significant foreign policy gamble of Trump's two terms in office, laden with risks and uncertainties. After making the announcement that Iran’s key nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated,” Trump asserted that Tehran must either pursue peace or risk facing additional attacks. This stance could incite Tehran to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s single most important oil passageway. Iran could also target US military bases and allies across the Middle East and mobilise its proxy groups ~ Hezbollah and the Houthis — against American and Israeli establishments around the world. Such retaliation from Iran could lead to a protracted conflict, reminiscent of the “forever wars” that the US fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, something that Trump had criticised and vowed to avoid.