Why did he wait until 10 minutes before the strike to ask that question?
by digby
Answer: He didn’t.
John Amato at C&L notes that Trump’s alleged decision-making on the Iran strike doesn’t pass the smell test:
As many journalists and analysts who cover the military know, the CONOP briefing includes a casualty assessment before getting approval.
CNN’s Sam Vinograd has a great Twitter thread on this:
.@POTUS throwing his own IC and military under the bus is nothing new, but it is galling.
The IC and military painstakingly prepare CONOPs and assessments of casualties.
Plus it’s also been open source info that Iran has the capability to kill Americans in response. https://t.co/u8vFFOcNZw— Sam Vinograd (@sam_vinograd) June 21, 2019
We still don’t know why he called this off at the last minute but it’s more obvious than ever that he’s likely going to make a very big mistake in any crisis. He is simply incompetent.
But he’s very proud of himself:
A source told me 30 minutes ago that Trump was pleased with his own performance last night, loved being in command by ordering the strikes and by then ordering the stand-down. And the president just… tweeted it. https://t.co/tUPSym7inn— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 21, 2019
Amato also caught George Conway, the husband of the president’s senior adviser, speaking truth as well:
Amato also caught Fox and Friends this morning.
Oh no:
This is bullshit. War with Iran would not be a walk in the part. It is not Iraq, and that wasn’t a walk in the park either.
.