War-averse Trump looks for off ramp with Iran
President Donald Trump “really wants to avoid a war,” former Trump National Security Council official Fred Fleitz said.
WASHINGTON — Echoing his predecessor Barack Obama even as he mocked him, President Donald Trump said today that he changed his mind at the last minute about taking retaliatory military strikes on three Iran sites deemed connected to the Iranian downing of an unmanned US surveillance drone June 20.
“We were cocked and loaded to retaliate last night on three different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it,” Trump tweeted today.
“I am in no hurry. Our military is rebuilt. … Sanctions are biting. … Iran can never have nuclear weapons. …” he continued.
Trump has said numerous times and former advisers attest that he is averse to getting drawn into another military conflict in the Middle East. But it is not clear that he has the team in place to effectively advise him how to get to the table with Iran or the limits of the maximum pressure campaign that has no serious direct diplomatic engagement.
