Draining the Swamp and Reshaping the World |
Foreign Policy > Iran
Draining the Swamp and Reshaping the World
By patiently setting the stage, President Trump has realigned the Middle East, formed a strong new alliance against communism and narcoterrorism in this hemisphere, and is forcing federal judges to stay within their constitutional lane.
Clarice Feldman | March 8, 2026
By patiently and methodically setting the stage, President Trump has realigned the Middle East, formed a strong new alliance against communism and narcoterrorism in this hemisphere, and is forcing power-grabbing federal judges to stay within their constitutional lane.
There are ridiculous claims about the targeting of the Mullahocracy. The truth is clearer: Iran posed an obvious threat to almost every country. In negotiations with Iran to avoid warfare, Steve Witkoff was informed by Iran’s negotiators that it was “proud” it had evaded all previous ”oversight protocols.” They bragged that they controlled “360 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium” from which they could make 11 nuclear bombs.
Not only did they have the capacity to produce these bombs, but their “attack potential at the start of the war was considerable.” Europe’s hesitance to act, in part, must reflect its incapacity for defense against this arsenal.
Roughly 500 missiles and 2,000 drones were fired off by the Islamic Republic in OEF to date. That number would have been much higher without heavy US/Israeli launcher destruction. Of the missiles ~71% targeted the Gulf region vs. ~29% toward Israel. Missiles are reckoned to be harder to stop and hence devoted to the hard target. Of drones ~95% were aimed at the Gulf region vs. ~5% to Israel. The UAE reports intercepting 165 ballistic missiles, 2 cruise missiles, and 541 drones (only ~35 drones penetrated). Kuwait intercepted 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones. Bahrain downed 45 missiles and 9 drones (minor penetration at a U.S. naval headquarters). Qatar took out ~18 ballistic/cruise missiles and drones combined. Saudi published no numbers but their effectiveness is probably comparable. Although airports were closed there were no mass casualties. Gulf defenses, while not perfect, were good. Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain) currently have more robust, layered, and combat-proven air and missile defenses against drones and missiles than most European cities or NATO European countries. This stems from decades of investment driven by direct threats (e.g., Houthi and now Iranian attacks), heavy reliance on top-tier U.S. systems, and real-world testing in high-volume salvos. European defenses, while improving via NATO initiatives, suffer from capacity shortages, gaps (especially against low-cost drone swarms), and limited operational experience at scale. The huge Islamic Republic attack capacity, had it been directed against less defended targets, had the potential to be far more effective. The sole defense of swathes of Europe lay in not provoking Iran for as the numbers suggest they were ill prepared to withstand the hail it unleashed.Advertisement if (window.publir_show_ads) { document.write(''); }
Roughly 500 missiles and 2,000 drones were fired off by the Islamic Republic in OEF to date. That number would have been much higher without heavy US/Israeli launcher destruction. Of the missiles ~71% targeted the Gulf region vs. ~29% toward Israel. Missiles are reckoned to be harder to stop and hence devoted to the hard target. Of drones ~95% were aimed at the Gulf region vs. ~5% to Israel. The UAE reports intercepting 165 ballistic missiles, 2 cruise missiles, and 541 drones (only ~35 drones penetrated). Kuwait intercepted 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones. Bahrain downed 45 missiles and 9 drones (minor penetration at a U.S. naval headquarters). Qatar took out ~18 ballistic/cruise missiles and drones combined. Saudi published no numbers but their effectiveness is probably comparable. Although airports were closed there were no mass casualties. Gulf defenses, while not perfect, were good. Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain) currently have more robust, layered, and combat-proven air and missile defenses against drones and missiles than most European cities or NATO European countries. This stems from decades of investment driven by direct threats (e.g., Houthi and now Iranian attacks), heavy reliance on top-tier U.S. systems, and real-world testing in high-volume salvos. European defenses, while improving via NATO initiatives, suffer from capacity shortages, gaps (especially against low-cost drone swarms), and limited operational experience at scale. The huge Islamic Republic attack capacity, had it been directed against less defended targets, had the potential to be far more effective. The sole defense of swathes of Europe lay in not provoking Iran for as the numbers suggest they were ill prepared to withstand the hail it unleashed.
The groundwork for the assault was well-planned and carried out.
In hindsight, Trump is, in fact, playing 4-D chess. Astonishingly, the United States faces zero organized resistance to the Iran operation. No countries are demanding UN Security Council votes. The General Assembly isn’t passing resolutions condemning American aggression in Tehran. Iran has no allies providing it with any material support. Its most important ally – Russia -- evacuated its teams just before the strikes began. Iran’s Muslim neighbors are helping with the operation.Advertisement if (publir_show_ads) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.pubads().addEventListener("slotRenderEnded", function(event) { if (event.slot.getSlotElementId() == "div-hre-Americanthinker---New-3028") { googletag.display("div-hre-Americanthinker---New-3028"); } }); }); } Even the Europeans are staying out of the way, and some EU countries are helping. (The UK is fixing its boat as fast as it can. Baby steps.) Nothing like that kind of universal support/non-opposition has ever happened before. How did Trump do it? By demolishing USAID, draining the Swamp, and spending a year building a tariff dashboard, he surgically transformed global anti-Americanism into something that looks more like sullen cooperation, if not outright pro-Americanism.Advertisement if(page_width_onload