In March, the US intelligence community assessed that Iran was “not building a nuclear weapon.”
In June, the Trump administration nevertheless launched airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
And today, it might strike Iran again over its nuclear ambitions — this time despite President Donald Trump having assured repeatedly that those June airstrikes had “obliterated” its program.
Trump and his team have rarely taken care to provide consistent rationales for using military force.
But ahead of a potentially more extensive campaign in Iran — one Trump is likely to talk about Tuesday night in his State of the Union address — their failures to build a coherent case for war are getting even more conspicuous.
Trump and his administration went to great lengths to highlight the success of those June strikes, in ways that appeared to go well beyond the available evidence at the time. And today, those grand claims are suddenly looking like a liability.
A focus on the nuclear threat
Continue Reading on CNN
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.