In how many ways is Trump’s “war of whim” harming the United States? Let us count the ways…
Or perhaps we should just take note of the fact that we have deeply unserious, profoundly ignorant people in positions that require deep reservoirs of knowledge and expertise. Instead, we have an assortment of pompous pretenders and religious crackpots who have launched a war without even agreeing on its purpose.
Newsweek, among others, has reported on military leaders who have been telling troops that the Iran war has been launched as part of “God’s divine plan”– that “Trump and Jesus” are executing a divine purpose. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has received some 200 complaints from roughly 50 military installations about U.S. commanders expressly linking Christianity to the “biblically sanctioned” war in Iran.
If those pronouncements–suggesting a throwback to the Crusades–weren’t horrifying enough, a post by Rick Wilson at Lincoln Square details the consequences for American readiness we can expect when attacks are launched by people who lack any detailed understanding of military strategy, let alone of the geopolitical context in which they are operating. As he writes, we are getting “a masterclass in what happens when a man who thinks black and white World War II movies in his head from the 1950s are the reality of modern combat between technologically advanced nations.”
Wilson picks apart Trump’s recent assertion that America has a “virtually unlimited supply” of “medium and upper-medium grade munitions.”
That’s not how our production and inventory of ammunition, guided weapons, and everything that leaves the barrel or the rail works. That’s not how industrial production works. That’s not how physics works. That’s not, as the kids say, how any of this works.
The United States does not have an “unlimited” supply of anything except debt, MAGA bots, and Trump mentions in the Epstein files.
As Wilson points out–and as Trump clearly doesn’t understand–every missile, every bomb, every 155mm shell, every variety of munition–“requires a supply chain, materials, rare earths, propellants, explosives, electronics, trained labor, and years of planning. Wars are not fought “forever” even in Trump’s brainfog alternate reality. There’s no imaginary Indiana Jones warehouse full of missiles.”
And about that context…
Trump has also bragged that we have additional “high-grade weaponry” stored for us in “outlying countries.” The irony of noting our dependence on the alliances and overseas basing structures he has constantly threatened, insulted, or tried to extort rather obviously escapes him.
Wilson has much more detail about the current state of U.S. armaments, and the gross incompetence of withholding support from Ukraine, and I encourage you to click through and read the entire essay for those facts and figures. But the firehose of lies and boasts about readiness aren’t even the worst part of this fiasco. As Wilson writes,
Now let’s talk about the dangerous part: casually boasting about stockpile levels. There is a reason serious leaders don’t blurt out operational readiness claims on social media, as if they’re bragging about golf handicaps.
Even if the numbers were accurate (and spoiler alert: he doesn’t know, and we’re burning through long-lead-time systems like a drunken sailor on shore leave), publicly telegraphing assessments of readiness, sufficiency, and shortfalls is the kind of thing professionals handle with classified briefings, not all-caps self-congratulation.
“Wars can be fought forever.” No, they can’t.
Wars chew through materiel, money, alliances, and political capital. Ask the Romans. Ask the British Empire. Ask the Nazis (the old ones, not the new ones). Ask the Soviets in Afghanistan. Ask anyone who served from 2003-2021 in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The idea that modern, high-intensity warfare can be sustained indefinitely without economic, industrial, and human consequences is the strategic equivalent of saying your credit card has “virtually unlimited” funds because the machine hasn’t declined you yet. Those $30,000 Shahed drones getting knocked down by $3,000,000 Patriots is a bad exchange rate.
So here we are–Trump (and MAGA Jesus?) have made domestic American society meaner while dramatically undermining our international influence and authority.
If I can distill this disaster into a single lesson, a cautionary tale, it would be this: failing to distinguish between celebrity and leadership is failure to understand how the world works, and voters who made that mistake–twice!–along with those who didn’t bother to vote, are responsible for the dire consequences of handing power to a clown car filled with people who haven’t the slightest understanding of their jobs, or the world they inhabit.
Excellent summary. Tragic summary. Deadly summary. Wilson also points out that this is the pathway to the use of nuclear weapons. The orange idiot and secretary Brylcreem are all too eager to continue their “Call to Duty” video game using real people and real cities.
The hairball and his minions have to be removed by what’s left of sane people. Otherwise … it’ll be Dr. Strangelove.
Yes, it is true that we can blame those who voted for Trump as well as those who didn’t bother to vote for this war of choice being run by the biggest collection of fools ever assembled on the North American continent. This should bring little comfort, because it will be ALL of us who will pay the price, and I expect that it will be a very high price indeed.
Sheila is right about the bad exchange rate between less expensive drones and the insane costs of Patriot interceptors.
Yes — the statement is essentially true, and the cost imbalance is even worse than the numbers you quoted.
A Shahed‑136 drone typically costs $20,000–$50,000 to produce, depending on configuration. Patriot interceptors used against them often cost $4 million or more each. That means defenders may spend 100–200× the cost of the incoming threat every time they fire. This cost asymmetry is widely documented and considered a major strategic problem.
Why the exchange rate is considered “bad”
• Extreme cost disparity — A $20k drone forcing a $4M missile shot is economically unsustainable over time. Analysts describe this as a “math challenge” for U.S. and allied air defenses. Think Trump math.
• High volume attacks — Iran can produce Shaheds cheaply and in large numbers, overwhelming defenses by quantity rather than sophistication.
• Interceptor depletion — Patriot stockpiles burn down quickly when used against swarms of low‑cost drones, and production cannot keep pace.
• Strategic leverage — The attacker forces the defender into a losing economic game even if the defender wins tactically by shooting everything down.
Why defenders still use Patriots anyway?
Even though the economics are terrible, militaries may still fire Patriots because:
• They must protect critical infrastructure or population centers.
• Cheaper interceptors aren’t always available or deployed in time.
• Layered defenses (guns, EW, cheaper missiles) may be insufficient against large swarms.
This is why the U.S. and Gulf states are now exploring lower‑cost interceptors, including Ukrainian systems designed specifically to counter Shaheds.
The bigger picture?
The Shahed‑vs‑Patriot dynamic is one of the clearest modern examples of asymmetric warfare, where inexpensive weapons impose disproportionate financial and logistical burdens on advanced militaries. Many analysts argue it’s reshaping air‑defense doctrine worldwide.
The scary tragedy of all this is that the man child in The White Playpen surrounded by evil foster parents is totally oblivious to this discussion. Senator Tillis from my state is right on to go after Stephen Miller.
“Trump has also bragged that we have additional “high-grade weaponry” stored for us in “outlying countries.” The irony of noting our dependence on the alliances and overseas basing structures he has constantly threatened, insulted, or tried to extort rather obviously escapes him.”
The U.S. may have more “high grade weaponry” than Iran OR Russia OR North Korea OR, OR, OR…and the list goes on. But together they can blast us off of the face of this earth as Trump continues making enemies of past allies and his outlying countries storing that weaponry but Iran and Russia are targeting those countries in retaliation to his personal war on Iran and his other global tomfoolery. They outnumber our military and our “high grade weaponry” and see Trump for the fool that he is and that the U.S. has joined the lockstep of the fool in the partially demolished White House, once the seat of democracy.
“If I can distill this disaster into a single lesson, a cautionary tale, it would be this: failing to distinguish between celebrity and leadership is failure to understand how the world works,…”
The United States is in a position at this time that we cannot win any war against any nation because we will be left to fight alone against the amassed armies of the global enemies he has made in the past year.
“We have met the enemy and it is us!”
I blame Biden. Instead of public displays of embracing and enabling Netanyahu,Biden did absolutely nothing to curb Netanyahu. Thus helping an environment develop so Netanyahu’s dream could come to fruition— nevermind Trump”s attempt to squelch his guilt wrt his activities with J Epstein.
Operation Epstein Fury, indeed.
We could even lay the blame for those
Cont’d.
That supported the overthrow of the democratically elected Mossadgh in 1953.
Oh,whatever we do… we just cannot blame Zonist influence on the American government.
Is Miriam Adelson getting her wishes?
Sure, Ian. Blame Biden for currying favor with Bibi. Just think how happy the weapons makers are. Israel doesn’t seem to have any shortage of ordnance.
The Holocaust guilt still echoes in the halls of Congress and elsewhere. Israel exists because of the collapse of the British empire and the United Nations decision to give the escapees their homeland. Not complaining, just stating the truth. You want to go into history? Better start about 5,000 years ago.
In a way, Ian is correct about the Zionist Biden, since when he was VP, Obama was able to form a treaty in the region, but Trump tore it up because Bibi and his Zionist backers in the USA didn’t want it either. This is a wet dream Bibi has had for forty years.
Bibi wants to clean out all the states that support a two-state solution in the region and Africa, too. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Trump is owned by the Zionist Billionaires in the USA and the right-wing in Israel. I would declare Bibi a sociopath and psychopath, and if China and Russia want global peace, they need to take out Bibi like Israel took out Khamanei. Bibi and all his Knesset, “God chose us to be here and live on this land.”
Maybe China could do us a favor with a decapitation strike on Miriam Adelson, Les Wexner, and his MEGA Group, who were behind Jeffrey Epstein.
I’m about a 30% through a video by the guys from Duran interviewing Jeffrey Sachs, who concluded over a year ago that we never wanted peace (Bibi and Israel). That was a ruse to let their guard down, just like we do everywhere.
At this point, Lavrov has reached that same conclusion with Witkoff and Kushner.
Keep the masses poor and struggling and they don’t have hope or the time and energy needed to vote.
“The irony of noting our dependence on the alliances and overseas basing structures he has constantly threatened, insulted, or tried to extort rather obviously escapes him.” Nah, he’s just bloviating. Seriously, he’s just making things up, as he often does.
Ignorance can be a terrible thing, but coupling that with psychotic narcissism makes it sooooooo much worse.
And, then, there are the crazies thinking, believing that they following an 2,000 year old script written in their particular book of legends. Yeah, like a god-thing would ally with an orange child rapist!
Sometimes it feels like we’re living in a spin off from Saturday Night Live. I recall a skit from an early episode that sought to hire the incredibly incompetent. We did much more than the skit called for, we put them in charge. Proof positive that the Peter Principle is way off base.
VOTE!
Ian, and Trump hasn’t done the same thing?!?
I continue to hold my breath.
The only upside MAYBE we get rid of Trump & crew.
Our president is grossly and obviously incompetent. Instead of wringing our hands, let’s do something constructive about it.
Since his Cabinet is unlikely to do it, Congress will have to designate an alternative body who WILL invoke SECTION 4 of the 25th AMENDMENT. Once they officially recognize his inability to competently discharge the powers and duties of his office, the demented narcissist would be REMOVED in less than a day. Then we can all watch as his accomplices cannibalize each other.
If you agree that it’s time, CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND YOUR 2 SENATORS TODAY, AND URGE THEM to organize a vote of No Competence via the 25th Amendment.
To be motivated, legislators need to see MANY constituents calling them to this specific action, so let’s FLOOD their zone with Truth. Please copy and POST this to your homepage, so others can Share it. Use it as a Comment on every appropriate post. If the comment won’t “take”, try it again WITHOUT the link.
We CAN make it happen, if we all do our part.
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxv