To understand Trump’s war, brush up on Shakespeare

Despite a teetering two-week ceasefire in the Iran War, President Trump proclaimed a “total and complete victory” for the U.S. But even the hawks were skeptical. After five weeks of bombing, costing billions in American treasure and the tragic loss of American blood, what do we have to show for it?  

The position is much as it was five weeks ago. We have accomplished very little. An ayatollah is still Iran’s supreme leader; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, although decimated by targeted assassinations, continues to rule the roost. Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium remains in its lead coffers, with heightened incentive to make a bomb. Its arsenal of missiles and drones, though depleted, can be rebuilt, and its proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthis, are not foresworn.

Iran maintains its stranglehold on the now blockaded Strait of Hormuz, the narrow corridor through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. And Trump’s attack has harmed the global economy, including that of traditional allies, some of whom he now threatens to punish for disloyalty. 

Time to brush up on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” — “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!”

This is “total and complete victory?” 

The purported ceasefire reminded us of “Hamlet.” “By indirections in, find directions out.” Fragmented drone and missile strikes on the Gulf states persisted on the first day of the pause. Israel’s war in Lebanon continued. The two-week intermezzo gives Iran time to regroup and fortify its positions.

Trump’s chaotic style also reminds us of........

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