So why did Trump call off his attack?

[sarabelle]

I bet the Iranians could prove the drone was in their waters.

But the main thing is that Trump is a bully and like all bullies, he is a coward. He is afraid to even take responsibility for the outcome. He was ok with the attacks military operations in Syria because they were planned and begun under Obama and had anything gone terribly wrong, he could always blame it on Obama.

This incident with Iran would make any and all responses the sole responsibility of Trump and his fellow chicken-hawks.

I knew all along the brass would be planning an attack and Trump was smugly acting like he could keep a big secret yesterday at his presser with Trudeau. So now he is playing "good cop-bad cop" with his foreign non-policy. It's really scary that this charlatan is Commander-in-Chief.

That said, I am really, really grateful that the attack was called off. Many innocent lives were saved.

[JI7]

1. orders from his boss

[maryellen99]

4. I really think trump is going to ignore Putin on this one.

He’s more concerned about being re-elected and staying out of prison.

[rzemanfl]

16. My first thought as well. n/t

[BeyondGeography]

2. It's Friday and he has no one he can delegate this to

No Sec Def, no buddies in the military.

This would have severely messed up his weekend and before you know it, Monday’s here and he can’t watch TV in the morning.

Forget it.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

3. Maybe in his call

The Iranians said.

Attack any part of our territory and we will declare war on the United States?

[Achilleaze]

5. The Shadow knows...

under their ignoble republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief, republicans have surrendered and sold out America.

[ornotna]

6. Phone call from Vlad

I'm sure it was a very powerful message.

[stonecutter357]

7. Putin !

[shanny]

12. Perhaps we should be grateful.

BizarroWorld.

[tanyev]

8. Big Vladdy said nyet.

[empedocles]

11. My guess also

[SummerSnow]

9. He called off the attack cause the children at the border are much more dangerous. Troops needed at

the border.

[Freethinker65]

10. Classic Trump. Threaten to do something, back down, often declare victory

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

Using this tactic in private business matters worked for Trump. The threats are less successful on the world stage. Trump is doing further damage to the US's reputation and is leaving himself open to ridicule.

[procon]

13. He also slunk away from Venezuela after

the military and the people refused to accept his handpicked puppet. After all that strutting and chest thumping about a big military operation, Trump turned tail and ran. Now no one is talking about Venezuela.

Trump is the worst sort of bully, festering and oozing his particular brand of egotistical madness, he is wildly unpredictable. He also a stupid bungler given to inappropriate, reactionary outbursts motivated by petty revenge, personal fits of pique and melodramatic displays of high dudgeon.

[shanny]

14. If he starts a war

it's gonna cut into his golf schedule. He might actually have to do some work.

[C_U_L8R]

15. Good cop Bad Cop usually requires two separate people playing Cop

In Trump's solo version, he just looks schizophrenic and weak.

[sarabelle]

23. Trump is schizophrenic, remember? We neve know which character he is.

[Hoyt]

17. In this case, whatever character flaw(s) caused him to call it off, I'm glad.

Heck, I'm OK with this particular action even if his bud Putin told him to call it off.

[beachbum bob]

18. I suspect the US military command got thru to him in some manner

that any attack could lead to overall middle east blow up and the threat against Israel goes up 10,000%, the oil supply would be taken out and world economy plunge into recession. depression


or he just had a lucid moment of thought?

[Javaman]

19. to make it appear as if he's the one in charge. that's why. nt

[RHMerriman]

20. Exactly...

"...Trump is a bully and like all bullies, he is a coward. He is afraid to even take responsibility for the outcome."

Well said.

At some point, the bluster is insufficient and the reality of taking responsibility for decisions that cannot be blamed on someone else takes hold ... Trump was sheltered his entire childhood, and he has ducked responsibility his entire adult life; I'd suggest he is almost incapable of taking responsibility for anything.

Yet another shooting war in Southwest Asia is, undeniably, going to be a failure for the United States; even if a US air campaign was "successful" in destroying significant Iranian military infrastructure, that is not going to lead to significant changes in the Iranian government's policies regarding the rest of the region, and the aftermath simply would encourage further asymmetric conflict on the behalf of the Iranian government.

Although Trump "might" gain a short-term increase in domestic support in the US, it would largely be from a marginal element of his already marginal base - establishment Republicans, for lack of a better term - and might actually diminish his support among isolationist Republicans. Independents and Democrats are unlikely to move toward supporting him, and if anything, such a failed conflict would drive independents further from Trump.

So there's no 'win" for Trump, other than in very short term and from a very small percentage of the electorate.

Ultimately, Trump understands the job is more than he bargained for; one of the very few "human" experiences he has had that got some coverage was his first - and only, if I remember correctly - visit to Dover AFB when the coffins of US military personnel KIA overseas came home; circumstances were such that he had to actually look a grieving family in the eyes and there was nothing "good" in the exchange for him.

Trump can't face the reality of actually being responsible for something; he can't stand the risk, and he has never had the moral, mental, or even physical capability to endure any sort of uncomfortable situation.

Now, we'll see over the next few days whether I'm correct, but the point about Venezuela is a good example; cheap and easy victories are the only ones he has the stomach for, and there would be nothing cheap or easy about a conflict with Iran.

As a far better man than Trump once said: "Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan."

[Corgigal]

21. Agreed, Iran has his number.

They are standing up to a bully. Trump probably has no idea what to do now. If he starts this war with Iran, I doubt he will be re-elected, which means prison for the Trump family. He should have never pulled us from the Iran deal.

[RHMerriman]

24. True that...

[dalton99a]

22. Putin called off the attack.

A move like that had to have prior approval