The White House wants Iran to attack Americans

Trump administration officials are apparently aware that Americans do not want to go to war with Iran. Indeed, poll after poll (after poll) shows that voters have no interest in starting another Middle East conflict, let alone embarking on an Iraq war-style regime change operation.

But the White House is working on ways around that. Trump officials’ latest thinking, according to a new report from Politico, is to have the Israelis attack Iran first and hope the Iranian retaliation targets U.S. forces in the region, which, in turn the theory apparently goes, Americans back home would be more supportive of a U.S. counterstrike in defense of U.S. troops.

A person “familiar with” the White House’s internal discussions on Iran told Politico: “There’s thinking in and around the administration that the politics are a lot better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate against us, and give us more reason to take action.”

Think about that: Trump administration officials are apparently willing to use U.S. troops as pawns to garner public support for an unpopular war.

But at least they’re consistent. That kind of thinking has gotten us to the “crisis” that we currently find ourselves in with Iran in that it is — like this half baked scheme — entirely manufactured.

Indeed, President Trump’s oft-stated goal regarding Iran has been to prevent Tehran from building or acquiring a nuclear weapon. What’s often left out of the current debate is that during his first term, Trump himself tore up the very diplomatic mechanism that was doing just that: President Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran.

While Iran did ramp up its nuclear program shortly thereafter — and President Biden made no effort to rein it in — Trump during the early days of his second term got close to another diplomatic agreement until Israel attacked back in June.

Fast forward to today: Iranian officials have consistently shown that they’re willing to make a deal. It’s unclear why there’s any discussion of going to war with Iran other than it’s what many in Washington, Israel and Trump’s own administration have been wanting to do for decades.

Indeed, after Trump officials briefed the so-called “Gang of 8” on its Iran intel this week, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, stated plainly: “we have not heard articulated a single good reason for why now is the moment to launch yet another war in the Middle East.”

No we certainly have not.