The unexpected Iranian resistance to the US-Israeli invasion and a strong anti-war sentiment in the US, have put cocky Trump in a bind. Benjamin Netanyahu has to prove that only his hardline will save Israel from extinction.  

US President Donald Trump is in a bind. He is under compulsion to defeat Iran to restore US pride and save his personal reputation as a strongman. The unexpected Iranian resistance to the US-Israeli invasion and a strong anti-war sentiment in the US, have combined to put Trump in a cleft stick. 

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is in a bind too. Against great and unexpected odds, he must prove that only his hardline against Iran will save Israel from extinction.  

The missile war he and his ally, Israel, unleashed against Iran has failed to crack the regime of the Ayatollahs or break the will of the Iranian people to fight back. Trump also lacks the support of people in his home turf, the US, where 75% are against the war, according to the latest poll.

American Congressmen estimate that the first six days of the war had cost US taxpayers at least US$ 8 billion, driven largely by expensive munitions. Daily military operations in and around Iran were costing taxpayers an estimated US$ 59.39 million per day.

That US$ 59.39 million a day could instead cover the daily costs of Medicaid for more than four million Americans, or SNAP (food stamps) for more than 9.5 million Americans, it is pointed out.

More than 250 US organisations have signed a joint letter calling on Congress to cease funding for the war, arguing that billions of dollars are being diverted from urgent domestic needs, reports Al Jazeera.

The signatories warned that further financial support for the military would only exacerbate the conflict. “More money for the Pentagon will serve to extend and escalate an illegal, unpopular, and devastating war – as well as pave the way for still more Pentagon funding requests,” said Robert Weissman, the co-president of Public Citizen.

The signatories of the letter represent a broad range of interests, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Oxfam America, National Nurses United, the Council on American-Islamic Relations,........

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