Like many, one of my first thoughts on learning that the U.S. and Israel had gone to war with Iran was how that would affect Russia and China.

They are, after all, devoted allies of Tehran.

Apparently, Donald Trump didn’t have any such concerns.

Neither did his “Secretary of War.” Asked if he was worried about Iran’s two biggest backers becoming involved, Pete Hegseth replied glibly, “They’re not really a factor here.”

Well, it seems he was wrong about that. And we were right to be worried.

According to the Washington Post, Russia is providing high-quality intelligence to Iran about the movements of American assets in the Middle East, including planes and warships.

The Post suggests the intel also includes locations of command centers, like the Kuwaiti base where six U.S. troops were killed in a drone attack on Sunday.

It is a worrying development in a war that, despite what the administration tells us, is not going to plan.

That is, if there was really a plan in the first place.

No doubt, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, and his generals at U.S. Central Command know what they’re doing. Trump’s right about one thing: they do........

© The Daily Beast