I’m sure everyone already understands this, but I have to say it anyway.   Yes, the Iran regime is evil and needs to go the way of all oppressive regimes that take freedoms and promote terrorism against others.   Thus a strategy to damage their ability to oppress and to export violence would be a reasonable objective.  But this doesn’t appear to be our strategy. For we achieved this objective in the first 10 days or so, we decapitated their leadership and damaged their ballistic missile and drone capability.  As they were selecting their new leader, we should have offered a cease fire and pulled back.  Leaving an ability to reinitiate attacks, but give them an opportunity to reconsider their position. Tactically a great first 10 days or so… but as we have no apparent strategy, we foolishly continue… because we wanted something more… something Trump would feel in his bones.

A non-existent strategy, means we are stumbling into an expanded war.  Iran gains their footing and broadens the war. Making it a war on the energy markets.  Attacking neighbor’s oil and gas fields, closing the Strait of Hormuz.  The power shifts from the USA and Israel to Iran, for to stop them requires an escalation we are not prepared for… we don’t have minesweepers, we don’t have sufficient ground forces available in the MiddleEast or the public will to use them, we didn’t put oil reserves on ships outside of the MiddleEast that could be deployed to dampen their counterattacks.

Israel on the other hand, seems to have a strategy.  Keep America involved so they have the cover to once and for all remove Hezbollah from Lebanon while also seeking regime change in Iran.  I don’t think regime change will happen, but by continual decapitation they will make it difficult for them to ever negotiate an end to this war (“excursion”  is an abomination of a description), and this is exactly what Netanyahu needs to stay in power and avoid trial on corruption charges.

Does this make Trump a patsy for Netanyahu?  Or does Trump need the continued conflict as well, to have the emergencies he needs to keep power?

Yes, we have amazing military tactical capability, but unfortunately  in the hands of strategically incapable political leaders.