Diversionary war': Trump wants to distract Americans from scandals at home | Christopher S Chivvis

"The George W Bush administration failed to ask whether the costs, risks and likely consequences of regime change justified the gamble. The result was tragedy for Iraq, for the Middle East and for America. Donald Trump's attack on Iran now follows the same pattern but with an even narrower logic of performative power."

"Trump's foreign policy is not guided by a coherent theory of order, deterrence or alliance management. It is driven instead by the demonstration of dominance, the creation of spectacle and the command of the news cycle. Military force, in this framework, is not a tool subordinated to strategy. It is the strategy."

"By weaponising the military for the sake of the attention economy, Washington has traded grand strategy for the immediate gratification of the news cycle. This is because the outcome of the war is less important to Trump than violent conflict with America's enemy and the performative use of US power."

The Bush administration invaded Iraq in 2003 without adequately considering whether regime change justified the costs and risks, resulting in tragedy for Iraq, the Middle East, and America. Trump's Iran policy follows the same flawed pattern with even narrower logic focused on performative power. While Iraq planning emphasized invasion logistics, neither administration seriously addressed whether war was necessary or could produce stable political outcomes. Trump's foreign policy lacks coherent strategy for order, deterrence, or alliances, instead prioritizing dominance demonstrations and news cycle control. Military force functions as strategy itself rather than a tool serving strategy. Trump's Iran escalation coincides with domestic pressures including civil rights controversies and legal setbacks, functioning as diversionary conflict to redirect global attention from domestic scandals.

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