(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Debacle In Iran [1] ['Greg Dworkin', 'Chloris Creator', 'Thom Hartmann', 'Bill In Portland Maine'] Date: 2026-06-08 Dementia Donald Trump went to war with Iran under the assumption it would be over in four days. At a crucial Situation Room meeting on February 11, Bibi Netanyahu contended that the Iranian regime would collapse after four days of bombing. J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Dan Caine and John Ratcliffe described Netanyahu’s case for war as “bullshit” and “farcical.” Nonetheless, Trump went to war and the results have been disastrous. One of the many problems with Trump’s handling of the war are the conflicting and confused messages coming from him and his administration. The goals and the rationale for the war are always changing and frequently make no sense. According to Trump, this is a war that we “won” weeks ago, yet it’s now in its fourth month. It was launched over Iran’s supposedly “imminent” ability to build a nuclear weapon using materials that we supposedly “totally obliterated” last summer, against a military that was supposedly “totally destroyed” but that we’ve also largely left alone. If we won the war weeks ago, why is the Strait of Hormuz still closed? Why are attacks still being launched by Iran? If we “totally obliterated” their nuclear capabilities, then how were they still “imminently” capable of building a nuclear weapon if we hadn’t attacked them? If we “totally destroyed” their military, then how have we also mostly left it alone? Notice, I’m not doing anything other than using Trump’s own words here. All I want from Trump supporters is for someone to tell me which version I’m supposed to believe, because I’m having trouble keeping up with what talking point I’m supposed to accept from Don Old Trump. The cold hard reality is that Trump has no good options now. He can either resume the war or strike a deal with Iran that is vastly inferior to Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal. Currently, Trump appears to be reluctant to resume the fighting. Dennis Citrinowicz laid out Trump’s military dilemma: “Trump is effectively acknowledging that there is no realistic military solution to the most critical aspect of Iran’s nuclear challenge: its stockpile of enriched uranium, particularly the roughly 440 kilograms enriched to 60% purity. Second, while it may be theoretically possible to remove or secure this material through military action, the practical realities are far more daunting. Any such operation would entail substantial risks to U.S. forces, including casualties, hostage scenarios, and the possibility of a prolonged military commitment. For a president highly sensitive to the political costs of military losses, the shadow of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed 1980 hostage rescue mission that damaged Jimmy Carter’s presidency, still looms large.” Resumption of the war by the U.S. would result in a humanitarian and economic catastrophe. “”Even if Trump were to carry out his threat to destroy Iran’s “civilization” through more bombing, Iran would still be able to launch many missiles and drones before its regime went down — assuming it did go down. Just a few successful strikes could cripple the region’s oil and gas infrastructure for years if not decades, throwing the world, and the United States, into a prolonged economic crisis. Even if Trump wanted to bomb Iran as part of an exit strategy — looking tough as a way of masking his retreat — he can’t do that without risking this catastrophe.” The Atlantic on May 10, 2026. The other option is to negotiate a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and limit its nuclear program. Behind the scenes, Trump is demanding the impossible from his advisers — he wants them to strike a deal with Iran that will be praised by the American people and the media as better than Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal. Trump’s demand for a better Iran deal than Obama’s is revealing. He fails to understand that Iran will be less likely to make concessions due to Trump’s own actions. On the first day of the war, Trump and Netanyahu took out the pragmatic members of the Iranian regime who were willing to negotiate. Now Trump is dealing with a much more radical Iranian regime which is loathe to compromise. Most importantly Trump does not understand the concept of a negotiation based on trust and mutual benefit, but only based on threats, fear and deception. He thinks one side has to win and one side has to lose. In addition, Trump’s strong suit is not dealmaking with powerful counter-parties. It is taking undue advantage of naive victims. In contrast to business deals he cannot walk away here and thus he is stuck. The Iranians and the Israelis both have a say on when the war ends. The consequences of a prolonged stalemate are dire for the economy and the Republicans’ political prospects. Oil company executives have warned the Trump regime that that global energy prices will skyrocket in the next several weeks if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Neil Chapman, Exxon’s senior vice president recently said that oil prices could soon hit $150 or $160 per barrel in that scenario. A renewable energy executive told me that gas prices could hit $6 to $7 per gallon by July or August. Virtually every Republican in Congress has voted in favor of this war on several occasions. It would only take a handful of additional Republicans to end this madness. You can’t vote out Trump in the midterms, but you can vote out the people who enable him. A vote for a no hope, vanity third party candidate is a vote to perpetuate the GOP corruption and madness. If you like MAGA rule in D.C., then by all means vote third party. MAGA means Morons Are Governing America. You are not allowed to give up. Blue wave 2026! Sources: Sharp analysis by Danny @citrinowicz. Trump is right about one thing: the paramount importance of the Iranian nuclear issue. The problem is that his Iran war may have increased the risk that an IRGC regime will make a rush for nukes, and Trump's current options are all bad. https://t.co/OaAO6x39iJ — Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) June 5, 2026 /media/b218e8b84870a86473a7328d13a43ef0 Checkmate in Iran Washington can’t reverse or control the consequences of losing this war.www.theatlantic.com https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/oil-price-spike-white-house-hormuz-00949435 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/8/800051648/community/debacle-in-iran/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/