If Trump's message of seeking peace appears at odds with ordering missile strikes, selecting targets and expanding the nation's military footprint, it may be explained in part by the contradictory promises he has made to his supporters, experts said.
David Jackson, Courtney Subramanian and John FritzeWASHINGTON – President Donald Trump was a picture of calm as he strolled onto the red carpet for a New Year's Eve party at his Florida resort this week. After threatening Iran in a series of tweets hours earlier, Trump seemed eager to lower tensions.
Women weep while mourning during a demonstration over the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 3, 2020.Thursday's airstrike, while at odds with the president's long-stated desire to pull troops out of the Middle East, was the culmination of a growing proxy battle between Iran and Washington after Trump withdrew the U.S. last year from a multilateral agreement intended to curb Tehran's nuclear weapons program.
"He’s promised the base that he’s going to pull us out of Middle East conflicts, and he’s also promised the base that he is going to push back on Iranian efforts to threaten the United States, Israel and our allies," said Thomas Warrick, a former counterterrorism official at the Department of Homeland Security and an Atlantic Council senior fellow.
Trump traveled between Mar-a-Lago to nearby Trump International Golf Club, where he stayed for less than an hour rather than the several hours he has taken to golf on most days since Christmas. "I don't think that would be a good idea for Iran. It wouldn’t last very long," Trump said."No, I don’t think Iran would want that to happen. It would go very quickly."
Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly touted their"maximum pressure" policy, a sanctions-driven campaign designed to isolate Tehran diplomatically and cripple the country economically. But increased aggression by Iran has raised questions about how effective that approach has been.
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