Donald Trump is leaning toward a major strike on Iran and wants the midterms out of the way first. Two US officials told CNN on Monday that the forces are in place, with a target list covering Iran's energy plants, military sites and nuclear facilities, ready to go "within 96 hours of receiving" his order. The White House declined to comment.
The date is the story. Trump posted on Oct. 8 that "we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections." His generals have the target list ready 18 days later.
Trump spoke in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday with gas at $4.29 a gallon, against $3.06 a year ago, and 73% of likely voters told the New York Times/Siena poll they disapprove of how he handles it. Trump told the crowd his staff had begged him off the subject: "My people say, please don't mention that, Sir, people are paying a little higher." Then he said it anyway. "I don't give a damn, I'm gonna say it: We're making a frickin fortune." He said the country is "making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what's happened in the Middle East."
Benjamin Netanyahu wanted the strike before his own vote, not after. An Israeli security source told CNN that Netanyahu "really wanted and tried to convince Trump for a joint attack in Iran before the elections," and that Trump held off partly because Israel's army chief, Eyal Zamir, warned Gen. Dan Caine a strike could harm Israel's election and force its postponement. Netanyahu's office called that "fake news." Channel 12 reported Zamir and Netanyahu clashed this weekend over a political directive on Iran, and Defense Minister Israel Katz called the report "completely baseless and false." The joint plans sit ready, "waiting for Trump's approval," the source said.
So the strike waits on two ballots, and the oil price waits on the strike. "We're making a frickin fortune" — who is the "we"? Because Americans are not.
