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President Trump was uncommonly lucky in his first term, neither inheriting nor provoking a crisis of the sort that tests U.S. presidents, until COVID struck in his final 10 months. (He failed that test, contributing to his 2020 reelection defeat.) Trump 1.0 was bequeathed a growing economy from President Obama, and the incoming president assembled a roster of capable advisors who often acted to prevent him from doing nutty things at home and abroad.

Trump 2.0 made sure that no such human guardrails populated his second Cabinet, only genuflecting enablers. Unrestrained, he has presided over one crisis on top of another, all of his own making. Tariff mayhem and high prices. Armed agents and troops in American cities. Repeated violations of court orders. Demolition at federal agencies and the White House.

And now Trump has taken the nation to war against Iran in league with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. Depending on the moment and the audience, a contradictory Trump is either claiming the war is “very complete” or that much remains to be done to “decimate” Iran. On Wednesday he blithely told Axios, “Any time I want it to end, it will end,” even as U.S. officials planned further actions.

In any case, Trump’s war of choice and the killing of the supreme leader of Iran’s terroristic theocracy now has spawned another potential crisis, counterterrorism experts warn: the risks of retaliatory terrorist threats at home. And that is a threat, whether from homegrown extremists or sleeper cells of the sort that came alive for 9/11, that is likely greater because of the initial self-induced crisis of Trump’s second term: his whacking of the federal government.

Trump authorized Elon Musk’s destruction of the bureaucracy in the name of “government efficiency” and continues to exact retribution against any federal employee who had anything to do with investigating and prosecuting him during his interregnum. Longtime agents and operatives have been eliminated at the FBI, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, CIA and elsewhere. Especially at the FBI, counterterrorism experts with centuries of collective experience are gone and many who remain have been diverted to Trump’s top priority: mass deportations.

Consequently, the president who promised to “Make America Safe Again” has arguably made Americans less safe.

I raised this scary prospect just over a year ago as Trump’s teardown of the purported Deep State was underway. And now a Mideast war that Trump promised never to start has further incentivized Iran and its jihadi proxies to hit back, just as he’s diminished the nation’s early-warning systems.

Enough intelligence remains, however, that even in the days before Trump ordered the first strikes against Tehran, government analysts were picking up “worrisome signs” of Iranian plotting against U.S. targets, the New York Times reported. After the U.S.-Israel onslaught and death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, the government intercepted a possible Iranian “operational trigger” to “sleeper assets” outside Iran, according to ABC News.

Counterterrorism expert Colin P. Clarke, executive director of the Soufan Center, which focuses on global security and transnational terrorism, wrote this week in the Atlantic that U.S. agencies’ record of disrupting Iranian-backed plots in America was in jeopardy given the recent changes in funding, personnel and priorities. “Because of this,” he concluded, “the U.S. homeland is arguably more vulnerable than it has been in a long time.”

In a follow-up exchange of emails, Clarke told me, “Many of this administration’s moves have been myopic — shifting counterterrorism resources to immigration, firing FBI agents working counterintelligence, etc. A week before the U.S. went to war with Iran, the FBI Director Kash Patel was off gallivanting in Milan at the Olympics [where he struggled to chug a Michelob Ultra, a firing offense in its own right] when he should have been preparing for the potential for an Iranian response on U.S. soil.”

Patel’s preposterous partying with the U.S. men’s hockey team while war-planning was underway in Washington was widely, justifiably mocked. But it stands as a metaphor for the entire Trump administration’s cavalier attitude toward homeland security. Its abusive focus on both migrants and citizens protesting on the migrants’ behalf is a distraction from actual threats to the country.

Patel, like his boss at the Justice Department, Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, has made plain in words and actions that the president’s political enemies are the real public enemies No. 1. One of Bondi’s first acts was creation of a “weaponization working group” to identify, fire or prosecute those in her department who’d investigated and prosecuted Trump, many of whom also had experience in domestic and transnational terrorism. The association representing FBI agents called her purges “dangerous distractions” from the work “to make America safe again.”

Days after starting the Iran war, when homeland security should have been on red alert, Trump fired his secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. Her costly cosplaying as the homeland’s heroine on horseback in anti-migrant videos, along with her penchant for luxury jets allegedly to transport deportees, was too much even for him.

Yet all three “national security” officials — Noem, Bondi and Patel — simply reflect Trump’s own warped approach and blasé attitude toward the homefront.

When Time magazine last week asked the commander in chief whether Americans should be worried about potential terrorist strikes at home, he replied, “I guess.”

“We plan for it,” he added. “But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”

The administration is planning for it all right. An extraordinary number of senior Trump officials have taken up residence in houses on military bases, including Bondi, Noem, the secretaries of State and Defense, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, and White House consigliere Stephen Miller.

The rest of us just have to keep our fingers crossed. I guess.

Bluesky: @jackiecalmesThreads: @jkcalmesX: @jackiekcalmes

Trump’s war rhetoric is coarse. It’s also heard differently, depending on the audience March 15, 2026

Trump’s war rhetoric is coarse. It’s also heard differently, depending on the audience

Voices Contributor: Republicans aren’t willing to call the war in Iran what it is March 10, 2026

Contributor: Republicans aren’t willing to call the war in Iran what it is

What is Trump’s true objective in the Iran war? U.S. targets provide a clue March 8, 2026

What is Trump’s true objective in the Iran war? U.S. targets provide a clue

L.A. Times Insights delivers AI-generated analysis on Voices content to offer all points of view. Insights does not appear on any news articles.

The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.

Ideas expressed in the piece

President Trump has recklessly taken the nation to war against Iran in league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite contradicting himself about whether the conflict is nearly complete or requires further action to fully “decimate” Iran. Trump cavalierly told Axios on Wednesday that he can end the war whenever he chooses, even as U.S. officials were simultaneously planning additional military operations.

President Trump has recklessly taken the nation to war against Iran in league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite contradicting himself about whether the conflict is nearly complete or requires further action to fully “decimate” Iran. Trump cavalierly told Axios on Wednesday that he can end the war whenever he chooses, even as U.S. officials were simultaneously planning additional military operations.

The Iran war has created significant risks of retaliatory terrorist threats against Americans at home, a danger amplified by Trump’s self-inflicted destruction of federal counterterrorism infrastructure. Consequently, the administration has undermined its own stated goal of making Americans safe by systematically eliminating experienced counterterrorism experts from the FBI, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and CIA.

The Iran war has created significant risks of retaliatory terrorist threats against Americans at home, a danger amplified by Trump’s self-inflicted destruction of federal counterterrorism infrastructure. Consequently, the administration has undermined its own stated goal of making Americans safe by systematically eliminating experienced counterterrorism experts from the FBI, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and CIA.

Trump’s dismantling of federal agencies and redirection of resources toward mass deportations and political persecution has compromised the nation’s early-warning systems precisely when they are needed most. Before the U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran and the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, government analysts detected “worrisome signs” of Iranian plotting against U.S. targets, and intelligence agencies subsequently intercepted what may have been an Iranian “operational trigger” to activate sleeper cells.

Trump’s dismantling of federal agencies and redirection of resources toward mass deportations and political persecution has compromised the nation’s early-warning systems precisely when they are needed most. Before the U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran and the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, government analysts detected “worrisome signs” of Iranian plotting against U.S. targets, and intelligence agencies subsequently intercepted what may have been an Iranian “operational trigger” to activate sleeper cells.

The administration’s approach to national security is fundamentally misguided, treating Trump’s political enemies as the primary threat while overlooking actual dangers to the homeland. FBI Director Kash Patel was attending the Olympics while war planning occurred in Washington, Attorney General Pam Bondi created a “weaponization working group” to target those who previously investigated Trump rather than focusing on terrorism, and the administration fired the Department of Homeland Security secretary amid its heightened security needs.

The administration’s approach to national security is fundamentally misguided, treating Trump’s political enemies as the primary threat while overlooking actual dangers to the homeland. FBI Director Kash Patel was attending the Olympics while war planning occurred in Washington, Attorney General Pam Bondi created a “weaponization working group” to target those who previously investigated Trump rather than focusing on terrorism, and the administration fired the Department of Homeland Security secretary amid its heightened security needs.

Trump himself has demonstrated a reckless indifference to potential terrorist attacks on American soil, responding to a question about whether Americans should worry about such strikes by saying “I guess” and dismissively noting that “some people will die” during wartime, an attitude that reflects the administration’s broader cavalier posture toward homeland security.

Trump himself has demonstrated a reckless indifference to potential terrorist attacks on American soil, responding to a question about whether Americans should worry about such strikes by saying “I guess” and dismissively noting that “some people will die” during wartime, an attitude that reflects the administration’s broader cavalier posture toward homeland security.

Different views on the topic

Trump asserts that the military campaign against Iran has been highly successful and will conclude “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target,” claiming that the U.S. has inflicted more damage than initially anticipated and exceeded the original six-week timeframe objectives[1]. Trump emphasizes his authority over the conflict’s duration, stating that he can terminate the war whenever he decides to do so[1].

Trump asserts that the military campaign against Iran has been highly successful and will conclude “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target,” claiming that the U.S. has inflicted more damage than initially anticipated and exceeded the original six-week timeframe objectives[1]. Trump emphasizes his authority over the conflict’s duration, stating that he can terminate the war whenever he decides to do so[1].

The military operation is justified as necessary to neutralize Iran’s capacity to threaten regional stability and global shipping lanes after decades of Iranian aggression, with Trump noting that Iran has caused “47 years of death and destruction” and must face consequences[1]. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper reinforces that U.S. military objectives include eradicating Iran’s ability to project power and threatening shipping, while emphasizing that U.S. combat power is building as Iran’s military capabilities are declining[1].

The military operation is justified as necessary to neutralize Iran’s capacity to threaten regional stability and global shipping lanes after decades of Iranian aggression, with Trump noting that Iran has caused “47 years of death and destruction” and must face consequences[1]. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper reinforces that U.S. military objectives include eradicating Iran’s ability to project power and threatening shipping, while emphasizing that U.S. combat power is building as Iran’s military capabilities are declining[1].

The four military objectives articulated by the administration—destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilating Iran’s navy, preventing Iran’s terrorist proxies from destabilizing the region and world, and ensuring Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons—represent legitimate national security goals[1]. These objectives align with preventing Iran from continuing its pattern of regional destabilization.

The four military objectives articulated by the administration—destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilating Iran’s navy, preventing Iran’s terrorist proxies from destabilizing the region and world, and ensuring Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons—represent legitimate national security goals[1]. These objectives align with preventing Iran from continuing its pattern of regional destabilization.

U.S. and Israeli officials are prepared to continue military operations for at least two additional weeks to ensure all strategic objectives are fully achieved, indicating that the campaign’s scope and duration are calibrated to accomplish complete military goals rather than arbitrary timelines[1]. This approach reflects a commitment to decisive victory rather than an incomplete withdrawal that could leave Iran’s threatening capabilities intact.

U.S. and Israeli officials are prepared to continue military operations for at least two additional weeks to ensure all strategic objectives are fully achieved, indicating that the campaign’s scope and duration are calibrated to accomplish complete military goals rather than arbitrary timelines[1]. This approach reflects a commitment to decisive victory rather than an incomplete withdrawal that could leave Iran’s threatening capabilities intact.

© Los Angeles Times