Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
War is the use of arms to settle differences—tribal, political, religious, cultural, and material—between organized groups. It is unchanging. The general laws of armed conflict stays immutable, given the constancy of human nature.
However, the manner in which war is conducted remains fluid. New weapons, tactics, and strategies elicit counterresponses in an endless cycle of tensions between defensive and offensive superiority.
That said, has President Trump introduced a novel way of waging Western war against America’s foreign enemies?
We saw glimpses of it during his first term, when he eliminated Iranian general and terrorist kingpin Qassem Soleimani and ISIS terrorist grandee Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In the former case, he preferred hitting the cause rather than the effects of Iranian terrorism in Syria and Iraq, while making it clear that he had no intention of striking the Iranian mainland and entering into a tit-for-tat “forever war.”
In large part, he was successful. Iran never quite replaced the venomous Soleimani. And despite tired threats, its performative art responses did not kill any Americans, and they were seen by Trump as venting and not worth a counterresponse.
In the case of the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Trump likewise went after the catalyst of ISIS terrorism. But he also bombed ISIS into near nonexistence in Iraq, since, unlike Iran, it lacked the financial and material resources of a state sponsor of terror, and it had no independent ability to make weapons or finance its terrorism.
In 2018, Trump probably killed more Russian ground troops (more than 200?) than America had during the entire Cold War, with his furious response to the Wagner Group assault on a U.S. Special Operations base near Khasham, Syria. Yet the defeat of Russian mercenaries also led to no wider conflict.
In these three cases, Trump successfully portrayed his antagonists as the unprovoked aggressors, employed overwhelming force to eliminate them, and declared them one-off occurrences with no need to punish the ultimate source or sponsor of the aggression with further force, and he was largely successful in limiting subsequent attacks on American installations.
In Trump’s second term, he widened his doctrine of “preventative deterrence” with operations to remove Venezuelan communist strongman Nicolás Maduro, along with two separate bombing campaigns against Iran.
While the second Iran operation is now in progress, it may resemble the earlier two in a number of facets.
Trump again portrayed Venezuela and Iran as unpunished past and present psychopathic aggressors. He went after Maduro, whom Biden had largely ignored, for his past of exporting gang-bangers and criminals across the Biden-era open border and for using Venezuela’s cartel connections to profit from American deaths.
As for attacking Iran, Trump cited the theocracy’s past terrorist attacks on Americans and U.S. allies, its effort to assassinate Westerners, and its unwillingness to abandon plans to create a nuclear weapon.
What, then, are Trump’s new ways of conducting war?
1. Geostrategy. Always behind these seemingly unconnected events—and other nonkinetic moves like warning Panama about Chinese intrusions—strategic concerns loom. The common denominator is usually isolating China from strategic spaces, allies, and oil—and Russia in a lesser sense.
Loud and terrorist, but ultimately impotent, proxies of strategic enemies—Cuba, Iran, Venezuela—are preferable targets. They are not just easily identified enemies given their past anti-American violence; they are also targeted because their demise offers a global display of the weakness of their distant patrons and underwriters.
2. Wars of Reckoning. Trump always frames his interventionism as reactive and long overdue. It is a sort of “reckoning war” for previously overlooked crimes that his predecessors had ignored but are often seared in the American mind. “Preemptive” or “preventative” wars, these strikes may be. But Trump himself avoids the baggage that those adjectives of aggression convey in the collective American memory.
3. War among Negotiations. Trump’s way of warmaking is usually an extension of ongoing negotiations (e.g., over Iran’s nuclear weapons or Maduro’s subsidies to terrorists and drug trafficking). So, during discussions, he offers various exit ramps to his adversaries and publicly laments the possibility of violence.
Meanwhile, American naval and expeditionary assets show up and amass to ramp up the pressure. Trump does not wait for negotiations to fail, but usually offers a deadline to his adversaries. And then he simply informs his advisors of the point at which the enemy has no intention of seeking a peaceful settlement. A strike follows.
4. The Culpable Apparat. Trump prefers top-down war. That is, he starts his attacks by targeting the enemy apparat, not its lesser henchman. The aim is both to disrupt its command and control and to separate an enemy leader from a population deemed not necessarily culpable.
His enemy counterparts—al-Baghdadi, Khamenei, Maduro, Soleimani, the Wagner Group—are widely regarded as odious, which strengthens his prophylactic or reactive action. For all the boilerplate, even Trump’s enemies do not gain empathy since their antiwar activism becomes inseparable from the de facto defense of a rogues’ gallery of deposed and hated killers and thugs.
5.No to Nation-Building. There is no nation-building. Trump sees the U.S. as responsible only for lighting the fuse of revolution, then giving the oppressed the chance of something better if they do not miss their chance at regime change and working with the Americans.
6. No Boots on the Ground. There are few ground troops involved—no chances for an Abu Ghraib misadventure, or humiliating skedaddles from Kabul, or maimed Americans from shaped-charge IEDs.
It is much harder for targets to kill Americans in the air and on the seas. And because there is zero investment in occupying a country and hands-on rebuilding of its institutions, casualties are kept to a minimum. Trump equates deploying a larger ground force in the Middle East with imbecility.
The weapons of choice of Middle East Islamists and terrorists—IEDs, sniper rifles, suicide vests, sudden rocket salvos—are far less effective, given America is fighting its sort of war with overwhelming firepower, technological advantage, and mobility in the air and on the oceans.
Trump prefers overkill to shock and awe, or using minimalist forces. Still, visuals are important. The point is not just to demolish the opposition but to do it with overwhelming redundancy as a global revelation of America’s assets, especially for viewing by the Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans.
7. Exit Strategy? There is an exit strategy of sorts, partly rhetorical and partly real—but usually arbitrarily declared by Trump himself. He alone starts the shooting and stops it according to his own definition of when the war begins and ends. The enemy has a vote, of course, but Trump frames the conflict in ways that lessen his say.
Because a transactional rather than ideological Trump holds few grudges, he can announce after taking out Iran’s nuclear facilities in summer 2025 that he wishes to “Make Iran great again!”
Or he praises the Venezuelan people and professes to restore their oil industry to its proper profitability and transparency—even as he storms their presidential palace. If the enemy refuses to give up, Trump assumes it eventually will. He has endless patience, both to pound it by air and sea and then, at any moment, praise the defeated and declare the hostilities over. Critics counter that without regime change—that so often requires ground troops—rotating the faces of the current Venezuelan or Iranian government will not result in a radical change in the targeted nation’s behavior.
8. No to Internationalism. Trump cares nothing for the UN’s condemnations, given its own moral bankruptcy and lack of credibility. For action outside Europe, he does not really consult NATO and much less the European Union. He assumes all three will follow a predictable script: initially critical, then tentative as the tide of battle turns, and finally either praising Trump’s success or eager to get in on itself.
Nor does he worry much about veiled threats from Russia or China. He is careful to consult a key few in Congress, but cares even less that the American Left opposes anything he does. Or rather, he expects their Pavlovian resistance and considers their shrill outbursts and street theater public relations as pluses and the stuff of future campaign ads.
9. Deterrent Displays. Trump uses his strikes as global reminders of American prowess. He showcases the USS Gerald R. Ford mammoth carrier, the largest warship in the history of conflict.
Media maps of American naval assets cover four disparate seas surrounding the Iranian theater—the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean—and derive from Pentagon press releases.
New weaponry is showcased—whether it’s a mystery sonic boom weapon at Maduro’s presidential palace, a new fleet of kamikaze drones in flight to Iran, or a monstrous new carrier.
10. American Self-Interest. Trump will not act unless the public can be apprised of American self-interest, and, in a cost-benefit calculation, there is a good chance of success. He has no interest in liberating and rebooting another Iraq and Afghanistan, since their oppressed populations may hate the infidel Americans as much as they do their own oppressors.
Trump saw Bagram Air Base as fortifiable, strategically located, and defensible, and thus in the U.S. interest, but certainly not so the graveyard of empires or the gender studies program at the university in Kabul. It is no accident that both the targets, Venezuela and Iran, have oil, offering the wherewithal for the liberated without the U.S. having to fund their own restoration. Flipping petro-dictatorships that were proxies under the aegis of China and Russia weakened both.
What Trump says and does are sometimes divergent. Funding Ukraine weakens Russia, which is in the U.S. interest, so Trump finds ways to keep the arms coming mostly without commentary. Letting Israel take care of business and jumping into the war to humiliate Iran last summer unleashed forces that destroyed the Assad regime in Syria—and finally got Russia out of the Middle East.
The present conflict over Iran is the greatest challenge that Trump has faced in either of his two terms. But given his past record, there is a good chance that he will eventually rid Iran of its theocracy—the fleeting hope of the past eight presidents.
For five decades, the Iranian street and its unhinged theocracy scared silly the Middle East with its “Death to America” chants, its promise to destroy the Zionist entity, its brag of going nuclear, and its often overt warnings to rip apart the Sunni-dominated Gulf.
But Trump, with help from Israel, finally revealed the theocracy to be a Keystone Kop kleptocracy. The mullahs screamed “Death to America!” but it was Trump’s America that finally brought death to them.
Excellent analysis! I hope you are considering writing a book about Trump’s presidency. The only thing that concerns me in all of this, is the so called “enemy within “ undermining President Trump’s ability to achieve successful outcomes. So far so good and I pray that it stays that way.
Just as I feel DJT was saved from a bullet and “anointed for just such a time as this”, you VDH have been gifted to us as a shepherd to bring Light to dismal times through your incisive reasoning. Dare I say you bring us real hope that cooler heads can and will prevail?
I pray the Lord will continue His healing upon you, and thank you for the blessing you are to those of us wanting insight, understanding, and guidance during these incendiary times.
Be well, live long and prosper, sir.
Russia’s Putin is very quiet. Hopefully he is taking the lesson that decapitation of evil regimes can happen anywhere in a Trump managed world. I had been thinking that we have learned nothing from our unending nation building debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan and here we go again! (Oh ye of little faith 🙂 Thank you Victor Davis Hansen for this historical insight into President Trump’s MO, his uncanny foresight and effectiveness. He runs circles around any other world leaders or any of our past presidents. I am praying for your full recovery. As one of our most prescient and insightful commentators, this country needs your voice of truth, wisdom, depth of knowledge and stabilizing reason in our chaotic world. Thank you for starting The Blade of Perseus. I first encountered your reasonable and insightful articles in The Fresno Bee (when they made a pretense of being bipartisan). They were a breath of fresh air in a sea of leftist propaganda. I gave up on it when they refused to publish my letter to the editor about some bad decisions on CA water reservoir project proposals and now that rag is defunct.
Trump deals with reality as he finds it. His critics hardly acknowledge reality; they live in a bubble that can only be sustained by the wealth and privilege afforded them by double-dealing, a compliant press, and sweetheart legislation bought and paid for in blue state capitals and in the District of Columbia. Victor’s list lays it all out.
Trump’s “Art of the Deal” reveals a lot about how he operates and mostly succeeds.
Well said!
Praesidens D Trump…qui tollis mallum Persiae …Donna nobis pacem.
Dear God: Just want to say Thank You for the medical professionals who diagnosed Victors cancer AND for getting him through his medical pre/post op challenges. As a selfish long time admirer, needless to say, I missed him as much as I miss my long time deceased mothers homemade Italian lasagna! Stay healthy Victor as we are all keeping you and family in our prayers. We can’t allow the voices of insanity usurp the VDH voice of sanity!
This is an outstanding piece, Prof. Hansen! I am so relieved you have returned to your full vigor, judging from the many complexities and observations you have gathered here. As I read it I wondered whether exposure of such an exhaustive analysis of DJT’s methods to our enemies can in some ways negatively influence his desired/expected effects, outcomes in future conflicts.
There are 3 great leaders in the west today; Trump, Netanyahu and Putin as all three are ”men of action” willing to assess risk, then take a calculated gamble – it’s the very essence of leadership
But have you noticed how quiet the Russians have become ? If the US can assassinate the Ayatollah and decapitate the Iranian regime then the Russians can definitely whack Zelensky and decapitate the Ukrainian government -that’s the obvious lessons they have learned from this .Zelensky has other reasons to worry as with the US full attention to this war in Iran they have lost all interest in Ukraine
I have been praying for you every day, Mr. Hanson. You’re the one voice of reason and a true treasure. Your bravery, intelligence, humility and cheery disposition sets you apart into a league of your own. You are a gift to humanity.
God bless and take care of you always.
It’s so nice to have you back giving us your reasoned, well thought out, common sense, commentary. I always learn something from each video and essay.
I’ve been praying for you daily, that God will return you to good health so that you can be our voice of reason. He has answered that prayer. I will continue to pray for you.
You punch a bully in the mouth. If they don’t get the message you may have to hit them again. But you don’t occupy their home!!!
Nation building is for fools and evil profiteers.
I only wish I could write like you.
As a retired 34 year vet, he is the freshest breath of air I have had for awhile. I just wish with my kill set I could get at the loons to the left. I am glad to live in the country, seems to be very few around. That is a very good thing or I might be in jail, to me they are the enemy. They are more dangerous to America than these foreign dummies. I am an educated American and in my view you have to be brain dead to believe this crap they put out.
I trust the American public can align with the admionistration’s fear of Iran with nuclear capacity, since “death to American” is their mantra / agenda.
Welcome back Victor! Here’s Wishing You the Best in all Possible Recovery from Your Recent Challenges, Great Health, and Long Life. Many of your Ideas expressed Above Mirror my own Thoughts About Our Presidential Team Although More Fully Presented Than I could Weave.
What a Wonderful Job These Youngsters Are Doing ! Cheers !
You can only chant “Death to America” for so long before you get a U.S. made boot up your posterior.
Will someone in Kentucky, Alaska, and Maine please send a copy to their senators so they won’t embarrass the party and vote in some way, the Republican way that turns victory into defeat.
Thank G-d for Trump and VDH!
Thank God for Trump. if K Harris or like people were in charge Americans would have to get under school desks and dig holes in our back yards for our bomb shelters again, I did that once and I’m too old to do it again.
I am so glad you are back, Looking forward to your wisdom for years to come.
Thank you again for your precise analysis…well done
Other Presidents accepted the received defeatist wisdom of the foreign policy pros, the exactly wrong thing. This book, Judgment in Moscow, details pitfalls of that approach:
https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-abstract/96/1/253/5697483?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Bukovsky had some rather negative things to say about the Republican fixer, James Baker, and others of both parties.
I do wonder if Tulsi Gabbard is now a team player or not.
Victor Davis Hanson’s essay brilliantly captures Trump’s approach to war as efficient, decisive, and low-entanglement—much like how he builds skyscrapers: obsessive attention to detail, reliance on trusted experts, insistence on excellence, perfect timing, avoidance of unnecessary dependencies, rock-solid foundations, full commitment once decided, and delivery on time/under budget whenever possible.
Trump doesn’t wage endless ideological crusades (no nation-building quagmires) any more than he’d tolerate cost overruns or structural flaws in a tower. He targets the “head” (Soleimani, Maduro, key Iranian apparat), applies overwhelming force swiftly from afar (air/sea dominance over boots-on-ground risks), sets clear deadlines in negotiations, then strikes hard and exits on his terms—deterring bigger players like China/Russia by exposing their proxies’ weakness.
It’s transactional geopolitics: calculate self-interest (oil access, border security, isolating adversaries), minimize American casualties and taxpayer costs, showcase overwhelming U.S. capability as a global reminder. No grudges, just results—then pivot to “Make [them] great again” rhetoric if it fits.
This builder’s mindset explains why it works where predecessors’ approaches faltered. Spot-on analysis, VDH.
Per usual, VDH has given wise and measured commentary.
His words are not a siren song to soothe the fearful masses, rather they provide reasoned hope that our Nation is in good hands, and that better days are ahead.
Prayerfully,
Mary Hoffman
Trump has consistently exceeded expectations, both in business and now politics. Beyond that, much like an MVP, he is a force multiplier for his team. Examples abound…Rubio is blossoming as a SOS, Noem, Homan and CBP on the border closed in weeks, Zelden at the EPA, Wright & Burgum on energy and now, Hegseth and “Rais’in Caine in the recent military accomplishments which almost boggle the mind.
In the latest actions, he is setting the expectation that the Venezuelan and Iranian people can retake their countries and once again become prosperous productive members of the international community. Let’s hope that they meet those expectations.
I don’t think it is that sophisticated a matrix. More like Clint Eastwood asking a street thug “do you feel lucky today?” & then wasting the guy. DJT knows he is the biggest, toughest kid on the block and is not embarrassed or guilty about the fact. Bad guys & miscreants & regional bullies have been free to run amok since the fall of the Soviet Union. No longer. New management. New rules. FA&FO. You’ve been warned. P.S. DJT doesn’t give a damn what the Twitter mob says about him.