Trump's Reasons for Attacking Iran Don't Add Up

Why is American attacking Iran? It helps to have a coherent reason, to justify to the American public the costs in money and blood, to allies about the potential long-term risks, and to Iranians about the future of their country.

After 9/11, there was broad support for invading Afghanistan because the country hosted the attack’s mastermind. In 2003, there was less support for what turned out to be the false claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. They didn’t, but Saddam stuck a belligerent tone and kicked weapons inspectors out. In 2026, Iran was at the negotiating table and we invaded … for reasons.

A couple of days before the attack Daniel C. Kurtzer, a Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at Princeton summed up the lack of clarity:

The bottom line is we don’t really know why the U.S. appears to be preparing for war with Iran. Trump has not yet briefed Congress or spoken to the American people about a possible military action that could inflame regional tensions and spark a bloody conflict.