RIP Project Freedom: Trump’s latest Iran plan didn’t make it past day two |
RIP Project Freedom: Trump’s latest Iran plan didn’t make it past day two
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It was already a confusing day in Washington. In the morning, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Project Freedom – the US mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – was temporary, and the rest of the world would soon be called upon to take it over.
In the afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said only the US military could pull off such an operation, and it would do so as a “favour to the world”.
By the early evening, they were both wrong. Their mercurial boss, President Donald Trump, pulled the plug, announcing Project Freedom would be paused “for a short period of time”.
It had been going less than two full days. A little longer than Mal Meninga’s political career, yes, but not by much.
According to Hegseth, hundreds of ships from around the world were lined up and ready to take advantage of the protection of America’s “red, white and blue dome”. Two US-flagged ships had successfully cleared the strait. The Iranians were embarrassed, he said, because it showed they did not control the strait, contrary to their claims.
So, beyond the question of why Trump let his........