Now What?
23/06/25 16:49
June 23, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 26) - So, he did it. Less than two days after he indicated he was willing to give Iran two weeks to come to its senses, President Trump launched a preemptive surprise attack against Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday. Although Trump says he made his "two weeks" statement to misdirect Iranian intelligence, to many it smacked of the Japanese sending peace negotiators to Washington while their planes attacked Pearl Harbor. Whatever it is, it is now water under the bridge. The key question is what happens next? Just this afternoon, it appeared that Iran sent a decidedly understated and non consequential missile attack on an American base in Qatar. It could be a signal that Iran wants to deescalate. It could also be a ruse, just like the one Trump just pulled off that is designed to disguise Iran's true intentions. Again, only time will tell. And as much as I mistrust this President, I am willing to give him some wiggle room. But if he continues offensive military operations in the Middle East, he must get approval from Congress under the War Powers Act of 1973. I don't care what our hillbilly Vice President said on the network talk shows Sunday morning, when you bomb someone else's country, it is an act of war. Nor to I buy our spineless House Speaker's notion that calls for triggering the War Powers Act is "partisan." Congressmen and Senators from both sides of the aisle have raised that objection. And, of course, there is the little detail that only the Congress has the right to declare war. Nothing Trump says changes that fact. So, now he's done it. I hope for his sake and, most importantly, the country's sake, that this past weekend's buster-bomb parfait will be the end of it. However, my instincts tell me that we haven't heard it all from Iran or, most dangerously, its independent friends in the world of international terrorism. The retaliatory attack may not happen in the Middle East. It could just as easily happen in the Midwest. And there is something we know for certain following last weekend's events: The United States can no longer present itself as facilitator for peace in the Middle East. By bombing Iran over the weekend, we threw off that neutrality facade by picking sides. And we know what they say: In for a penny, in for a pound. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. Photo courtesy of the Associate Press.