Trump, Iran, and the Myth of Israeli Dictation |
The Mistake of Believing Israel Is Dictating His War
Since the beginning of the war between the United States and Iran, one interpretation has taken hold among some analysts: Donald Trump was supposedly drawn by Israel into a confrontation that was not initially a priority for the United States. I think this view is incorrect. In addition to underestimating the severity of the conflict between Washington and Tehran, it misinterprets Donald Trump’s character. No one can easily force Donald Trump to go to war against his will. When he strikes, it is because he believes he is serving his own agenda, his own understanding of power, and his own narrative of American history.
In the American strategic imagination, Iran is not just another issue. It is not simply another hostile regime in the Middle East. It is an old wound. 1979 has never truly left the American memory. The hostage crisis in Tehran did not merely........