“To be or not to be (in the war)?” - Mr Trump decides
Actually, Mr Trump is very smart. He is keeping everyone, friend and foe, guessing what he’s gonna do next. His politics of uncertainly is classic Trump.
He has applied 3 of his 11 principles from his book “The Art of the Deal” as follows:
(1) Think big
“I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: if you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”
He has built up the impression that only he can decide whether to destroy the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow or not. It’s like the fate of the world depends on him!
(2) Maximize the options
“I never get too attached to one deal or one approach…I keep a lot of balls in the air, because most deals fall out, no matter how promising they seem at first.”
By being uncertain and unpredictable, he is really maximising his options, ready to do a 180 anytime.
(3) Use your leverage
“The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is to seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead.”
That’s why Trump is taking his time to “decide”, alternating between issuing threats and reassuring that there is always room for negotiation.
My guess:
Given that the whole point of the war is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Fordow and all the other nuclear facilities will have to go. But most analysts and observers have fallen into the false dichotomy of whether to bomb Fordow or not; and the wrong priority of destroying nuclear facilities over regime change. To me, regime change is far more important. If Iran transforms into a friendly and responsible democratic republic, then they would dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and stop terrorising the world. On the other hand bombing the nuclear facilities would only be a temporary setback for a murderous regime, not a lasting solution.
