Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
The Left and some on the Right went crazy over a recent Trump tweet.
He warned that if the Iranian regime did not cease blocking the international Strait of Hormuz, he would hit its dual military-civilian infrastructure. He promised that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
His wording may have been sloppy, but Trump obviously meant that the murderous civilization/culture of radical Iranian theocratic Islam would cease to exist and wouldn’t come back once power plants and transportation systems crucial to the regime’s survival were cut off.
Why do we know that?
Because, unlike in most prior American wars, Trump has never targeted dual-use infrastructure—not in bombing ISIS, not in removing the Venezuelan thug Nicolás Maduro, not in the 2025 bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and not in the present war—with the exception of a key bridge central to the regime’s efforts to reposition missile assets to avoid air strikes.
Ever since Trump announced that “help is on the way” to the Iranian people, the entire aim of the five-week war has been to selectively target the regime’s command and control and military assets.
The goal was to diminish its threats abroad, while weakening and humiliating the mullahcracy at home—so that soon the Iranian people might at last be able to overthrow the odious theocracy.
Trump’s critics knew all that.
But they see political advantage in tagging Trump as a Strangelovian madman, no different from the Nazi criminals in the docket at Nuremberg.
A few less unhinged people argue that his rhetoric nevertheless comes across as unpresidential.
Perhaps.
But it may be no accident that his Gen. Curtis LeMay-like bluster might have pressured the Iranians to reopen negotiations.
On Monday, the Democrat Borg was declaring Trump a savage maniac.
By Tuesday, it was blasting him as a TACO (“Trump Always Chickens Out”) for not carrying out what the day before they had dubbed a war crime.
The common denominator was an overarching, deranged hatred of the president, as his critics can never decide whether he is Adolf Hitler or Neville Chamberlain.
But since the Left has called for investigations of war crimes, by all means let them begin.
Obviously, Trump’s critics conveniently no longer buy the argument of “dual-use.” It posits that the juice powering an evil enemy is its roads, bridges, fuel, and electricity. To disable them supposedly shortens the war and the killing.
In World War II, we leveled a dozen Japanese cities because the Tokyo junta had outsourced the assembly of weapons to urban neighborhood workshops.
We joined the British in leveling Dresden by targeting German transportation.
Perhaps the Left will now remove the iconic names of Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman from our buildings and monuments?
Truman should be a twofer boogeyman.
He ordered every bridge and hydroelectric plant in North Korea to be incinerated during the Korean War.
How about the Lyndon Johnson/Richard Nixon bombing of North Vietnam? Their war machine annihilated most of its civilian infrastructure in efforts to force the communists to negotiate.
The 42-day bombing campaign in the First Gulf War targeted power stations, roads, bridges, and dual-use government buildings.
Should we go back and Trotskyize its strategic architects—George H. W. Bush and Gen. Colin Powell?
Sen. Mark Kelly is one of Trump’s fiercest critics in pressing the war crimes charge. Perhaps he, too, should be post facto investigated by the International Criminal Court, given the fact that, in 1991, he was a pilot in an air force that frequently hit bridges and other dual-use targets?
How about the “noble” NATO effort in Serbia?
According to the logic of current critics, there must be lots of war criminals still to be found who were involved in that merciless 1999 bombing of Belgrade.
Bill Clinton’s gambit wrecked all the bridges on the Danube and often left more than a million civilians without power.
Will we indict Barack Obama for ordering more than 500 targeted predator assassination hits on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border without Congressional authorization, strikes that ended up killing four American citizens?
Perhaps we can reinvestigate Samantha Power, Hillary Clinton, and Susan Rice, the architects of the 2011 “unlawful” and Congressionally “unauthorized” seven-month bombing of a mostly inert Libya.
And why not reexamine Obama? He snubbed the 60–90 War Powers Act window, which required him to obtain congressional authority to continue that mindless devastation.
The Libyan wreckage included civilian ships, port facilities, TV buildings, telecommunications, and government offices—and left the country an utter mess that continues 15 years later.
The left-wing and paleo Right fury has far exceeded any legitimate critique of strategy and tactics.
It has now become not just incoherent but crazed, since it appears that many despise Trump more than they do the murderous Iranian regime.
And now they add the weight of rank hypocrisy to their serial untruths.
Exaggeration and bluster and even naughty words are part and parcel of The Art of the Deal. How can they NOT see it? It brought a trace of a smile to these long-wrinkled lips as his voice crossed tattered ear drums.
What seems alarming is the lack of foresight and critical thinking of the Dems/lefties/rinos among us.
It is all but impossible to reason with them. They are completely stuck on an overly worn sound-track that repeats ad nauseum 24/7. Such that it’s time to return to translating old Ming/Ching Dynasty history books for relief and in order to ignore and forget those who push for decline and disintegration.
Didn’t U.S. intelligence recently intercept a call from the Iranian President to IRGC Head in which the former said the country’s economy would collapse in 2-3 weeks without a peace agreement? Is it possible that Pres. Trump is waiting for that event to occur with the 2-week ceasefire agreement?
If the IRGC can’t pay its members, the theocratic government should lose control, resulting in a civil war and potential regime change. Perhaps, the IRGC militia will lay down their arms, if they believe they’re on the losing side, but one would hope the Iranian people are receiving arms through the CIA & other sources. God bless these people.
Lyndon Johnson with better hair.
Well Victor, so good to see you on the mend and we all pray it continues for you, your family and all your dedicated fans!
To quote one of my favorite comedians, Oliver Hardy to Stan Laurel, “Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into!” I am not blaming POTUS for this war as I ask myself a very simple question; ‘do I want Iran to possess nuclear capabilities’ If anyone answers with the affirmative than I pity the lack of logic and common sense. This is a ‘messy’ situation for the president, no doubt as he faces a plethora of challenges that could go one way or another. The media, as expected, is having a field day now and not surprising to any of us who think sanely the hatred for Trump far outweighs the threat of a nuke landing in the middle of their TV studios! Finally, I have very mixed emotions when it comes to negotiation with evil terrorists who have a history of not abiding by any of them. They want their 72 virgins at some point and negotiating is just not part of that equation. Stay healthy and eat your Wheaties!! God Bless America, our military and Veterans.
Lee, Trump is not “missing the source of IRGC power – the oil revenue”. Trump is very, very, well aware of Iran’s capacity to regularly employ oil derricks and crews (the tong worm, chain throw, derricks, motor man, tool pusher, and the driller) to drill miles into the earth and tap into small oceans of oil, then “trip the pipe” and remove the drill bit, then reattach the stands and place the miles of 33 foot pipe stands back in the ground to begin pumping out the “liquid gold”, a common nickname for oil, also called “Terrorism Funding Liquid Stuff That We Trump Probably Never Heard Of” by the Trump-hating media, also called “the Media”.
President Trump seems frustrated that the Mullahs haven’t cried Uncle yet.
Maybe this is because they know the American people will not support a ground invasion necessary to finish the job and the midterm elections will be held in a few months which are likely to cost the Republicans the House and turn Trump into a lame duck president. The Mullahs are counting on Trump never to destroy their country’s infrastructure and cause a massive humanitarian disaster for the oppressed long suffering Iranian people.
To survive, the Iranian regime need only wait it out for few more months til Trump has been politically neutralizd and their benefactors Russia and China can rearm their defences.
Half baked wars produce half baked results.
What President Trump and millions of Americans don’t understand is that this is a religious war. Certain power structures on this planet operate with a contempt for human life that doesn’t feel human in origin. Iran’s radical Ayatollah declared war on The Great Satan America and the Little Satan Israel in 1979. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE AYATOLLAH MEANT BY DEATH TO AMERICA?
The attacks on Iran were NOT followed by the Iranian people rising up and taking control of their country. They couldn’t. They’d be butchered just like they are today by the IRGC who is now in charge. Iran will not negotiate. There is no need to even try. Peace is the enemy of evil. They don’t use proxies – these are Islamic terrorist franchises. Playing whack-a-AYATOLLAH isn’t enough. When Ray Kroc died, did the McDonald’s franchises stop operating?
Those Islamic Shiite terror franchises have enjoyed the support of other Islamic nations or nations who took money from Iran to provide them with safe refuge, the ability to transfer funds and buy weapons, and recruit new fighters. Israel is attacking Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, but there are more Islamic terrorist franchises that are active across several regions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Mali, Niger, Yemen, Mozambique, and the Philippines. President Trump needs to deal with them too. How? Only a magnitude level of destruction like America did to the emperor worshipers of Japan. There is no other solution.
Occupy Qeshm , or reduce it to rubble, and the Toll-booth through the Strait is neutralized
Isolate / occupy Kharg and pull the Iranian oil into a similar ‘trust fund’ to Venezuelan oil….
Checkmate….
In a rational America, Professor Hanson shouldn’t have to play Captain Obvious on this topic for any adult who has a memory longer than a year.
However, I am frustrated that Trump wants to throw the Democrats help by CHOOSING to issue statements i.e. ‘I will destroy an entire civilization’. Yeah, we get what he means, and so does the Democrat-Mainstream Media Propaganda Complex. But for most people who aren’t going to analyze and attempt to discern if there’s another meaning, a civilization is just that: an entire people, not their government nor their dictators.
And so the Democrats/Media push the accepted meaning of ‘civilization’ to raise fears Trump is threatening to destroy Iran’s entire population.
Trump hands them this to push to independents, the undecided, etc with just months left before the mid-terms where, if he loses either of the narrow majorities in Congress, his last two years will be nothing but impeachments, the agenda we elected him for dead in the water.
Why does he continue doing this while knowing the Democrats and Media are the same thing? He wants to make it a fair fight, give them a hand getting up off the mat?
And Iran: why is he allowing Iran to continue funding both their terrorism and war by allowing them every day to ship oil to Russia and the ChiComs, while their threats of terrorist attacks on shipping have closed the Strait of Hormuz?
I think DJT is missing the source of the IRGC power – the oil revenue. If the US seized Kharg island it ends the source of the bribes the IRGC pays to it’s members, which is a primary reason for being a member of that death cult. And it would cut off sales to the PRC, where most of the tankers getting passage take their loads. The PRC pressure to take a ceasefire was not minimal. It would be best that a replacement to the current regime have electricity to function.
thank you for your always sane analysis…
OMG! Victor has located and amplified factual items the left relegated to the memory hole! Shocking! We can’t have ‘hate facts’ defacing the narrative. I have no doubt the MSM will tell another story entirely. No need for AI. They have sufficient natural stupidity (if only it were merely stupidity; it is actually meretricious malevolence).
Wow, so well said, VDH: “It has now become not just incoherent but crazed, since it appears that many despise Trump more than they do the murderous Iranian regime.”