Donald Trump and Wars of Choice — President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House last year promising to keep the United States out of conflicts and claiming to be a peacemaker. “Under Trump, we…

Donald Trump and Wars of Choice President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House last year promising to keep the United States out of conflicts and claiming to be a peacemaker (responsiblestatecraft.org › trump inauguration speech war). “Under Trump, we will have no more wars,” he said (rollcall.com) on the campaign trail in 2024. And Trump has been especially critical of going to war in Iraq. “We should have never been in Iraq,” said Trump during a Republican presidential debate in February 2016 (theintercept.com). “We have destabilized the Middle East.”Despite all of this, the U.S. was joined by Saudi Arabia in attacks on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on Wednesday (reuters.com). “U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” U.S. Central Command announced, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the recent (theintercept.com › iran missiles drones us air defenses) flare-up in Trump’s failing war with Iraq’s neighbor, Iran.Trump’s latest war in the Middle East follows denials last month that he ever campaigned on avoiding forever wars. “I didn’t promise anything,” he told (cnn.com › fact check trump new wars) “Meet the Press” on NBC News. On that — if nothing else ever — Trump has been true to his word. An Intercept analysis (theintercept.com › trump secret wars) found, in fact, that America has been embroiled in more than 20 military interventions, armed conflicts, and wars during Trump’s years in the White House. Today, TomDispatch’s recently retired founding editor, Tom Engelhardt, and I examine the presidential penchant for ruinous wars in the Middle East, why the current narcissist-in-chief couldn’t resist entangling the U.S. in a seemingly endless conflict with Iran, and whether the American people are finally fed up with forever wars.— Nick Turse, editor of TomDispatchIf you haven’t yet, sign up to receive TomDispatch in your inbox here. (join.theintercept.com › tom dispatch signup) The Me, Me, Me Presidency There’s no I in war. But there is in Iran. And in Iraq, too. Both these wars were about ME — that is, the Middle East. It’s a region rife with supposed American security interests, but this wordplay points to another very all-too-real dynamic: These wars are as much about the “I” and “ME” of the White House as they are about the countries we attack. Or to put it another way: It’s the presidential psyche, stupid. Way back in 2002, then-President George W. Bush warned that Iraq, Iran, and outlier North Korea comprised a grave threat. “States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil (politico.com › bush axis of evil 2002 1127725), arming to threaten the peace of the world,” he warned. “By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger.” North Korea built a nuclear arsenal, and with it, purchased a guarantee of security (theintercept.com › ukraine nuclear weapons russia invasion). The other two countries produced no nukes, and the story has been radically different. Related Fool Me Twice: The Case for War With Iran Is Even Thinner Than It Was for Iraq (theintercept.com › us attack iran iraq war) The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003. Two months later, the war was won. Except it wasn’t. Despite President George W. Bush’s unforgettable May 1, 2003, “mission accomplished (e