WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a remarkable display of bipartisan consistency, the United States has once again demonstrated that the guiding principle of American foreign policy is not oil, democracy, or international law, but the timeless rule taught to children on playgrounds everywhere: “You mess with my family, I mess with you.” Historians are now drawing comparisons between two proud moments in presidential decision-making. The first occurred in 2003, when President George W. Bush famously resolved to invade Iraq after learning that Saddam Hussein had allegedly tried to assassinate his father , former President George H. W. Bush, during a visit to Kuwait in 1993. The second occurred this week, when President Donald Trump reportedly launched a major military confrontation with Iran following threats and alleged assassination plots against him. Political scientists are calling this doctrine “Dynastic Self-Defense.” The Evolution of Presidential Strategy Foreign policy experts note that A...
MAR-A-LAGO — In what historians may one day record as “Operation Epic Fury and the Art of Strategic Face-palm,” President Donald J. Trump has apparently decided that war with Iran is the best way to launch his long-touted regime-change renaissance idea — which he once described as “something like plucking weeds from a garden, except the weeds have ballistic missiles.” In a weekend announcement that fully flipped his earlier “no foreign wars!” campaign — or maybe just didn’t read it — Trump revealed that the U.S. and Israel had launched an extensive strike campaign on Iran, targeting leadership, missile sites, and a few things the average American can’t pronounce. The president proudly declared that Iran’s Supreme Leader had been killed and that this action would somehow lead to a peaceful new order (and possibly better golf weather in Tehran). “This is not reckless foreign entanglement,” Trump said from the comfort of Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by beach chairs and a golf cart that h...