Eerie parallels are apparent between President Trump’s aggressive actions toward Iran and the ill-fated decision of President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003: overconfidence in American military power; a false sense of invulnerability; lack of transparency; ideological and politically driven policy; personal vendettas in high places; weak and fabricated justifications for US aggression; unwillingness to question assumptions or consider nonviolent alternatives; lack of attention to long-term consequences; capitulation of influential administrative and legislative voices; and a quiescent public.
One senses the same unwise itching by officials to apply military force, the same lack of honesty about national security, and the same desire for illegal regime change.
What is it about a country that tempts it to undertake a second costly, misconceived, and self-destructive action in the Middle East in less than two decades?
John Aram
Brookline
Note from KBJ: Yes; they're exactly the same, John.
