Mastodawn

Trump's conflicting messages sow confusion [& disbelief] over the #IranWar

#Trump says the #US is winning the #war with #Iran even as thousands of additional American #troops deploy to the #MiddleEast.
He has pilloried other countries for not helping the US, only to say later he does not need their assistance. He has 2X delayed deadlines for Iran to reopen the #StraitOfHormuz.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies #TrumpsWar #propaganda #RulesOfWar #law #WarPowers #geopolitics #economy
https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-war-conflicting-messages-f9269cc4fe1cee914501b68ec5b6c217

Trump's conflicting messages sow confusion over Iran war

President Donald Trump describes the war with Iran as a success, even as his message about the conflict keeps shifting. Trump says the United States is winning even as he sends more troops to the Middle East. He blames other countries for not helping the American effort, then says he doesn't need their assistance. He's delayed deadlines for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And he's sent mixed signals about how much the closure of the vital waterway matters. Former officials and analysts say his zigzagging is creating confusion. For Trump, his approach is bumping up against the unpredictability of war.

AP News

He has both threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s #energy plants if the vital waterway remains largely shuttered & said the #US was “not affected” by the closure.

At one point this month, #Trump said one of his predecessors—who, he strongly suggested, was a Democrat—privately told him he wished he had taken similar action against #Iran. Reps for every living former president quickly denied that such a conversation happened.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies #TrumpsWar #propaganda #law #WarPowers #geopolitics

As the war entered its second month on Saturday, Trump’s penchant for embellishments, exaggerations & falsehoods is being tested in an environment where the stakes are much higher than an isolated political fight.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies #IranWar #TrumpsWar #propaganda #US #Iran #war #ForeverWars #Trump #RulesOfWar #law #geopolitics #MiddleEast #economy #oil #energy #EnergyCrisis

#LeonPanetta, who served Democratic presidents as defense secy, CIA director and White House chief of staff, said he has “seen enough wars where truth becomes the first casualty.”

“It’s not the first administration that has not told the truth about #war. But the president has made it kind of a very standard approach to almost any question to in one way or another kind of #lie about what’s really happening & basically describe everything as fine & that we’re winning the #war,” he said.

Michael Rubin, a historian at the American Enterprise Institute who worked as a staff adviser on #Iran & #Iraq at the #Pentagon from 2002 to 2004, said #Trump is “the first president of any party in recent history that hasn’t self-constrained to live within rhetorical boundaries.” [what a nice way of saying #TrumpLies]

“So of course it creates a great deal of confusion,” he said.

#IranWar #TrumpsWar #propaganda #US #Iran #war #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

Stacey Campbell 1d ago

@Nonilex I can absolutely assure Michael Rubin at the American Enterprise Institute that Dubya Bush was not "self-constrained to live within rhetorical boundaries" when he lied non-stop for months in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

#uspol #trump #gwbush

Darwin Woodka 1d ago

Please, truth was dead before this administration started.

“Another major issue during Panetta's tenure as defense secretary was the Obama administration's diplomatic effort to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Panetta stated (Jan 2012) that nuclear weapons development was a "red line" that Iran would not be allowed to cross—and that the United States was keeping all options, including military ones, open to completely prevent it. He said that Iran would not be allowed to block the Straits of Hormuz.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Panetta?wprov=sfti1#

Leon Panetta - Wikipedia

noplasticshower 1d ago

@Nonilex not surprised that you can't lie your way out of war

Marc Abrahams 1d ago

@Nonilex Con men say all sorts of things.

@Nonilex Is Trump lying or hallucinating?! Perhaps both?!

@Nonilex
It was fun to see the mass media come back after talking to both Bushes, Clinton, Obama and Biden who all said "not me..."

Fernhead 1d ago

@Nonilex
Confusion is the intended harvest. It’s a bumper crop for sure.

@Nonilex
it appears that Trump refuses to read lengthy written briefs, and doesn't like being given bad news. So his daily Iran briefs are 2 minute videos of combat cam footage of Iranian things getting assploded. He is fake-newsing himself and because of this thinks he is winning.

@Nonilex
even intellectual-lightweight Hegseth is tiring of Trump's shit

Twotired 1d ago

@Nonilex 2X 🌮

contradictory signals don't just confuse allies — they confuse adversaries too. when you can't tell if a threat is credible, you can't calibrate your response. Iran is watching the same signals everyone else is. confusion isn't neutral; it makes miscalculation more likely.