The US’s unclear goals and endgame in the Iran war

The much awaited address to the nation by US President Donald Trump turned out to be a damp squib.

- Tara Kartha

The world tuned in —eager to see whether Trump would announce an end to the war against Iran — but it instead got several minutes of the President's usual self-praise and little else. The fact that no dramatic announcements were made is in itself interesting, as it raises a key question: Why did Trump choose to speak, and what could be the end-effect of this?First, the speech was clearly aimed at rescuing the President's approval ratings at home, which have dropped sharply, with even the Republican approval falling from 52% in January to 43% now. Last week saw the largest nonviolent march against Trump's policies. It is true that the ‘No Kings’ protest was not specifically against the war, but took aim at the sheer illegality of Trump's many actions, including starting a war without taking the UN route for this.

If Trump expects that his rambling speech will fire up his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, with its juxtaposition of past, multiyear wars against the ongoing 35-day war against Iran, he has got it completely wrong. This could go on for decades, even longer than any other war in US history.

Washington may indeed bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age”, but a civilisational State will not forget. Expect a shift to unconventional war and decades of terrorism. This is not over till there is perception of victory for the other side as well. It is Iran in the driving seat, and everyone knows it.