'I'm not going to start wars. I'm going to stop wars.' That was Trump on election night 2024.

🕊️ THE SHIFT — In just over one year, Trump has authorised force in seven countries. He is now engaged in the biggest US military operation since Iraq. The president who campaigned on peace has launched a war that has no clear exit strategy and no defined end state.

🎯 THE OBJECTIVES — They changed week by week. Peace in the Middle East. Then just the region. Then destroy Iran’s navy and missiles. Then regime change. Then a deal. Analysts say the war was launched without a clear goal — and Tehran knew it.

📉 THE POLLS — Americans disapprove. Allies weren’t consulted. Six US service members have been killed. Gas is approaching $4 a gallon. The political cost is mounting daily.

⚖️ THE TRAP — Former negotiator Aaron David Miller put it plainly: “This war of choice has become a war of necessity.”

Presidents choose how wars begin. They don’t get to choose how they end.

#Trump #Iran #Geopolitics #WTFinance #Macro