How Trump Betrayed His First Duty to Americans

By Jeffrey Feltman and Mara Karlin

Jeffrey Feltman was U.S. ambassador to Lebanon from 2004 to 2008. Mara Karlin served as the Levant director in the Pentagon in 2006 and 2007.

“The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens,” President Trump said in his State of the Union address last month, daring Democrats to remain seated (which they did) when he asked them to stand to show concurrence. It was, arguably, effective political theater. But when it comes to life-or-death reality — the actual safety of American citizens — Mr. Trump’s cavalier approach to the war with Iran is recklessly endangering hundreds of thousands of Americans in the Middle East.

The lack of preparedness on the U.S. government’s part is bewildering. For weeks there had been talk of the possibility of war if diplomacy failed. The Trump administration should have given sufficient warning to its embassies and instructed them to plan for departures of both its staff members and civilians, following established procedures. Communication to civilians about evacuations needed to be clear and timely, with instructions for how to seek help. Instead, there was disarray and confusion; many civilians were left to fend for themselves. As midlevel American officials tweeted “DEPART NOW,” only two U.S. Embassies in the region seemed to be operating anywhere near normal.

The State Department did not authorize the departure of diplomats and their families until the day before the war started — and that was only in Israel and Lebanon. Mandatory departure for most countries did not begin for days into the war.

Yet the Iranian response to the military campaign seeking to collapse the regime was entirely predictable. They have targeted the Gulf states, especially soft targets like airports and hotels, in a desperate attempt to expand the conflict and save themselves by escalating the cost for America and its allies.

The Trump administration failed to plan for evacuating either its diplomats or its citizens and did not adequately warn either. When evacuation orders did come, they were not accompanied by details about how, or whether, the U.S. government would assist them.

In addition, U.S. coordination with regional partners, so they could take steps to protect their citizens, appears to have been minimal. Americans overseas were not warned; neither were our partners.

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