Trump Wants to RENAME Everything: How about “The Trump Quagmire”?

As American troops face renewed danger in the Middle East, with Iran striking U.S. positions across the region, President Donald Trump is busy contemplating something rather more personal: renaming the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait.”

Figures Don’t Lie, but Liars Figure

It is hard to say how many have died or been wounded, both US and allied troops, in the latest standoff with Iran. Nonetheless, Trump tries to justify his actions, or failures in relative terms, by claiming only 18 were killed in action so far in the Iranian military conflict over a period of four months. The American public is supposed to consider that as a success when compared with Afghanistan, 2,000, dead; Iraq, 5,000; Vietnam and Korea, 58,000 and 36,000, respectively.

No mention is made, however, in exact terms, of the body count for those local troops and civilians, so-called allies in Jordan and the Gulf States, as I guess US lives matter the most.

It is difficult to know the full human cost of the latest confrontation with Iran. What is not difficult to know is how quickly the numbers can be arranged to tell a politically convenient story.

Eighteen is certainly fewer than thousands. But fewer dead Americans does not necessarily mean fewer dead people.

The American tally is relatively easy to count and politically impossible to ignore. But what about the soldiers and civilians in the countries that have become America’s forward operating bases? Iran has retaliated against U.S. positions in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq. The people living around those bases did not choose to become participants in America’s confrontation with Tehran, yet they inhabit the geography in which Washington’s war is being fought.

And then there are the Iranian casualties. Recent U.S.........

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