Twice in his media conference on March 9, President Donald Trump called his current bombing of Iran as an “excursion”. On one occasion he qualified it by adding the adjective “little” to the word “excursion”. The Oxford dictionary gives two meanings of the word. The first is “a short trip made for pleasure, especially one that has been organized for a group of people”. The second is “a short period of trying a new or different activity”. The first meaning cannot apply to the bombing unleashed on Iran. The problem with the second meaning is that Trump’s exercise is not a ‘new or different’ activity because the US had bombed Iranian nuclear sites last year. Besides, it is not known if the period of activity will really be short. It can only be hoped it will be because it is causing great distress and economic upheaval. This is apart from the loss of innocent lives because of the US and Israeli bombing and also the Iranian response. That response has resulted in the deaths of three Indian nationals too.

Trump’s use of the word ‘excursion’ for a military conflict even if no boots have been put on the ground was less than satisfactory. To associate the meaning that his present action is a short ‘trip’ for pleasure would be wrong for the US........

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