Trump Just Crossed a Line He Promised He Would Never Cross

"President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have launched the first massive wave of a full-scale war on Iran-yet the reason for attacking now and the vision of what happens the day after are murky, to say the least. An eight-minute video that Trump posted on social media early Saturday morning, announcing that he had begun "major combat operations," raised more questions than it answered."

"He made very clear that the intent of the attack-called "Operation Epic Fury"-was not only to wipe out Iran's nuclear infrastructure (which Trump already claimed to have "obliterated" in last June's attack) but also to raze its ballistic missile force and, above all, to topple the Islamic regime."

"There is no civic or protest group with the arms or organization to grab the reins of power in Tehran, nor are U.S. or Israeli troops going to occupy Iranian territory to help them to do so. Even if they did, the results wouldn't be certain. It is worth recalling that, in 2003, President George W. Bush sent 150,000 troops to depose Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, yet even they were unable to impose order but instead incited an insurgency and a civil war that lasted nearly a decade and destabilized the entire region."

Trump announced "Operation Epic Fury," a full-scale military campaign against Iran aimed at destroying nuclear facilities, dismantling ballistic missile capabilities, and toppling the Islamic regime. Trump called on Iranian citizens to seize control of their government after the bombing campaign. However, the operation lacks a clear post-conflict vision. No organized Iranian opposition force exists with sufficient military capability to assume power, and neither U.S. nor Israeli troops plan ground occupation. Historical precedent from Iraq's 2003 invasion demonstrates the dangers of regime change without adequate ground forces, resulting in prolonged insurgency and regional destabilization. The feasibility of achieving regime change through airstrikes alone in a country three times Iraq's size remains highly questionable.

Read at Slate Magazine