‘A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight’ (Update: It Won’t – Another TACO)

A few hours ago, President Donald Trump posted the following message on his Truth Social website.

A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!

These are shocking comments by any standards. Increasingly frustrated by a war he launched that is clearly not going to plan, Trump has taken to making increasingly bellicose threats in an attempt to get the Iranian regime to capitulate. His threats to destroy critical Iranian civilian infrastructure has led to accusations that he is planning to commit war crimes, but that doesn’t concern Trump. He literally says so.

Trump has set a deadline of 8PM Eastern Standard Time tonight for Iran to capitulate.

I don’t entirely know what news I will wake up tomorrow morning but I sincerely don’t think Iran will give up, meaning the President faces a choice.

Will the United States under his leadership drop all pretense of moral superiority and indulge in the savagery and inhumanity we have come to associate with Vladimir Putin’s Russia? How will the United States’ western allies react if Trump not only crosses that red line but charges over it?

Or will Trump once again TACO and find another excuse to delay his threatened assault? So far his hand has been stayed by the potential consequences, just as he can unleash unbelievable devastation upon Iran, so too can Iran unleash unbelievable devastation upon the Gulf allies of the United States and not only deal a crippling blow to the global economy, but provoke an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

I am not going to guess what is going through his mind right now or his intent. While Trump has ignored every deadline he has set himself, the rhetoric he has employed may mean he himself feels he has no choice but to follow through. On the other hand, he may satisfy himself (if nobody else) that his threats have achieved something and find a way to back off bringing mass death and suffering to the peoples of the Middle East.

Update: So I write this just before I turn in and, thankfully, it seems Trump has taken the ladder offered to him by Pakistan

Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated. On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

It’s conditional on Iran reopening the Straits of Hormuz in the meantime (yet to be seen if that is in the offing) and it’s always possible he will change his mind in the coming hours but at the moment, it seems that once again his firebreathing rhetoric falls short of his willingness to act on it.