Donald Trump's personal war in the Middle East, barely two weeks in, has rapidly spiralled out of control. Within days of being launched, he had declared it "already won" and mocked Kier Starmer, who he claimed was contemplating sending both Britain's aircraft carriers into the region, saying: That's OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don't need them any longer - But we will remember. We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won!" The president was specifically warned that Iran would likely seek to close the Straits of Hormuz before he made the decision to begin air strikes, but dismissed the idea, believing they would 'capitulate' within days.
More than 20% of the world's oil passes through the straits, and immediately (and predictably), the price of oil spiked. Several ships have already been hit, and the flow has all but stopped.
The idiot in the White House is now pleading with other countries to provide ships to escort tankers through the waters of the Persian Gulf. His pleading came in the form of a post on his Truth Social account, his preferred method for conducting international diplomatic discussions, on Saturday:
As usual with Trump, he exists in his own reality, claiming these unspecified countries "will" be sending warships and adding that "hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated."
He would be well advised not to rely too much on other countries, most of whom have publicly condemned his administration for starting the war in the first place. I would think some will agree - provided there is a ceasefire or a negotiated settlement in place first. And therein is the problem for Trump.
He claims, without any evidence, that Iran wants to negotiate a ceasefire, but he won't agree because the terms aren't "good enough" yet:
“.. The president said several countries have committed to helping secure the strait, but declined to name any of them.” @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 15 March 2026 at 00:58
The Iranians have already made it known that they want sweeping security guarantees and reparations for all the damage and the lives lost. Trump seems to think he's dealing with some rational actors in Tehran behaving like a commercial business, rather than religious fanatics prepared to martyr themselves for their cause.
He may have 'decapitated' the old regime, but that has only brought to power another Khamenei, one whose father, mother, wife and son were all killed by a strike on their compound in the first few hours. One can only begin to imagine the thirst for revenge that Trump has created.
This all comes back to how to end a war that never had any clear objectives in the first place.
Some senators think Trump is looking at sending ground troops after 5,000 marines were dispatched to the region. I doubt that. When the first Gulf War began, the US led coalition assembled 750,000 troops over a five-month period, to invade Kuwait and kick out Saddam Hussein's men. The 2003 invasion of Iraq began with about 250,000 US troops deployed. A few Marines won't achieve anything.
Trump, like Putin, has seriously underestimated his adversary. The climbdown will be an abject humiliation.
