Trump: Combat Partner or Fair-Weather Warrior?

Oh boy. Here’s what Donald Trump and his battalion of sycophants and inept politicos have not told us about Iran’s nuclear capabilities:

Buried underneath the underground nuclear site that Trump says he “obliterated” last June are some “18 to 20 scuba-tank-like canisters, each of which contains up to 55 pounds of highly enriched uranium, the main material for making a nuclear weapon.”

They are there for the taking, only to do so America or Israel would have to undertake a risky commando operation that surely would result in numerous casualties.  

America and Israel can bomb Iran back into the Stone Age but those uranium canisters would still be available to Iran or whomever digs them out. 

The end game for this war with Iran was to fully disable its ability to produce nuclear weapons. But as W.J. Hennigan and Massimo Calabresi pointed out in The New York Times, “If President Trump ends the war without getting control of the canisters, Iran will almost certainly speed toward going nuclear. Grabbing it, on the other hand, would entail huge risk and the inevitable deployment of American or Israeli ground forces (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/opinion/trump-iran-nuclear-weapons-enriched-uranium-war.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share).

Capturing Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro was child’s play compared to the task facing Trump and Bibi Netanyahu. They have disrupted the global economy, initiated a regional conflict with casualties across multiple countries, and bottled up seafaring trade, air travel and oil production, all for naught if they fail to secure the uranium before the shooting stops. 

Prior military ventures with few American casualties have emboldened Trump’s feeling of invincibility. The question now is, does he have the fortitude to deploy ground troops that almost certainly will have members killed or injured? Is he ready to accept responsibility if the mission fails? Or has a high casualty rate? 

Israel is facing an existential threat. Netanyahu cannot risk leaving enriched uranium available to Iran or any other entity. Israel must be all-in on securing those canisters. 

Netanyahu will shortly find out if he has a true combat partner in Trump or a no risk fair-weather warrior. 

  

Everyone’s a Terrorist to Trump But Putin

To Donald Trump, anyone, any entity, that doesn’t agree with him is a terrorist, foreign or domestic. Maduro. Antifa. Renee Good. Alex Pretti. Ecuador. Iran. El Mencho. Congressional Democrats. Any entity but Putin.

He’s right about Iran. Under Islamic Republic leadership Iran sponsored terrorism. It cultivated and exported attacks within its borders and across the Middle East, South America, Europe and the United States. 

The hope is that under whatever new leadership emerges in Iran the world will be a safer place. That may be true when it pertains to Iran’s nuclear missile ambitions. But terror has many facets. State sponsored or by lone actors. Bombings. Attacks by guns, swords and knives. Chemical warfare. Technology disruptions. 

No doubt, millions among Iran’s population adhered to the extreme vision of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei so it will be difficult, to say the least, to expect new leadership to be conciliatory towards Trump’s vision of a pliant Iran. Anyone Trump finds acceptable will automatically be suspect to a vast segment of Iran’s 90 million residents. Iran will be a shell of itself but still committed to extreme Islamic values.

Trump does not want an “endless war” with American troops occupying Iran. But he is no student of history if he believes Iran can self-police its conversion to a non-belligerent trusted state. Allied troops were needed for years on the ground to rehabilitate Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan after World War II. 

Trump is finding out it is a lot easier to give the order to shoot than to deal with the aftermath of his carnage. Without boots on the ground to prop up a more moderate government that has no guarantee of enduring a la our experiences in South Vietnam and Afghanistan, Trump merely has given Israel more security in the short term. A worthy benefit, but one that may well leave America vulnerable because our ordinance reserves may be severely depleted. 

We really should be arming Ukraine with the firepower to thwart Russia’s illegal land grab. Putin has spun Trump around like a marionette on a string. Trump can easily display American military might in Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador and Iran, but he dares not stare down Putin by appropriately arming Ukraine. 

An unchecked Russia is a true and real terror to Europe and the United States. 

A Purim Surprise For Iran

 

Whatever one thinks about the joint American-Israeli war on Iran, the timing could not have been more mystical. 

The timing was not lost on anyone with even a modicum of knowledge of Jewish history, the Bible and the Talmudic imperative, "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” 

Purim begins Monday night, just days after the joint Israeli-American attack began. Jews celebrate Purim as a triumph over evil conceived by the imperial officer Haman to annihilate them throughout the ancient Persian empire. 

Jews have lived in Persia, modern day Iran, for some 2,600 years, ever since their first temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BCE (before the common era) by the Babylonians who exiled them to modern day Iraq and eastward to Persia. 

Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians in 539 BCE. Cyrus permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem. Many did. The majority remained in Persia and Babylon for the next 2,500 years until Iraq and Iran responded to the creation of the State of Israel and Islamic extremism by forcing all but a few remnants of their respective Jewish communities to emigrate, mostly to Israel.

At one time Iran had strong relations with Israel. After the shah was replaced by the Islamic Republic, Jews and Israel became Iran’s enemies.

Recent Jewish holidays have not been strictly moments of religious reflection and joy. Egypt and Syria launched the Yom Kippur War on October 6, 1973, Judaism’s holiest day. Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, came on Simchat Torah, the day Jews celebrate the completion and the start of a new annual reading of the Five Books of Moses. 

Trump’s wars have been marked by flashpoints of military prowess followed by unplanned, unknown aftereffects. In Venezuela, regime change was not a priority beyond capturing Nicolas Maduro. Trump had secretly courted Nicolas Maduro’s vice president to succeed him, leaving the impression that he just wanted Maduro out and assurances America would get access to the country’s oil. Instituting democracy was not top of mind. Trump is not a champion of democracy, at home or abroad, as his cozying up to autocrats abroad and his denigration of American election integrity have amply displayed. 

Trump’s comments after his Irani adventure have waffled as to expectations of whom will replace the decapitated Irani leadership. His picks were thwarted by Israel’s success in killing most of Iran’s leadership in the opening minutes of the air campaign. 

So now he envisions a four to five weeks long air assault with as yet no plans for boots on the ground. Has he reached agreement with Israel on the type of Irani leader acceptable to both combat partners? Who knows? Is he prepared for weeks, months or a longer disruption of Persian Gulf oil supplies? Who knows? Is Trump ready for body bags to come home encasing American airmen? Well, we know he said combat deaths were inevitable. How large is America’s tolerance of casualties before dissent ripples through the heartland?

Extremism—political and religious—are here to stay, in the U.S., Israel, Europe and the Middle East. No one can predict when Israel will confront the next Haman bent on its destruction, when it will be forced to “rise up and kill” first. But it surely, sadly, will come to pass. 

For America, existential threats are to be found in Russia and China, if their leaderships so choose. But disaster is far from a realistic certainty. 

Iran has been a rogue state for decades, leading many Western countries and Sunni Moslem states to support the attack. Domestically, Trump faces negative feedback for failing to seek congressional approval for initiating what clearly is a war, as required by the Constitution. Few legislators will be crying tears for the Irani leadership killed, but another embrace of an imperial presidency has many worried about our slide away from representative democratic government.

Yet another example of our race toward degeneracy is news that fortunes have been made on betting sites, especially one affiliated with Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., predicting when war would break out and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be killed. 

Through a lottery (a “pur”) Haman chose the date Jews would be massacred throughout Persia. How ironic that betting on a date came full circle for Khamenei (https://www.npr.org/2026/03/01/nx-s1-5731568/polymarket-trade-iran-supreme-leader-killing).

Another Day, Another War

Only the most militant Trumpster can glorify in America’s latest foreign assault on Iran under Donald Trump. Perhaps this time we will truly “obliterate” Iran’s nuclear bomb-making capacity. The “peace” monger has started another war without congressional approval, even as he continues to appease Putin’s takeover of parts of Ukraine more than a year after he said he could end that conflict in one day. 

Not content with foreign excursions, Trump has unleashed thugs across our land to corral, shoot and kill Americans he labels domestic terrorists. 

Congress? Fuhgeddaboutdit. Trump has neutered it. He is considering a plan for  a federal takeover of next November’s congressional elections under a pretext of national security linked, in his Machiavellian mind, to alleged Chinese involvement in Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/us/politics/trump-elections-midterms.html?smid=url-share).

Once an editor, always an editor: I do not mean to minimize the agony Ukrainians are going through this winter but I feel reporting from the embattled country must be accurate and appropriate to its audience. 

Last Tuesday night Holly Williams reported on “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil” that Ukrainians were living through bombardments in 0 degrees temperature. Harsh conditions, to be sure. 

But Williams’ report and review by her editors failed to inform viewers that the 0 degrees she noted was on the Celsius scale, equivalent to 32 degrees Fahrenheit most Americans are familiar with. 

Yes, 32 degrees is cold and difficult to live in day in, day out, all the more so in a war zone. But using 0 degrees is an unfortunate misrepresentation to viewers. 

Williams grew up in Australia after the country switched to Celsius in 1972. It is understandable she might revert to her formative years of education when reporting on climate conditions. 

Her audience, these days however, is predominantly Americans who think of temperatures in a Farenheitan way. 

I Instagrammed a similar critique to Dokoupil that night but have yet to hear back from him. 

I haven’t seen Williams do any reporting since last Tuesday. 

Related CBS news: CBS has more to worry about than an errant temperature report. With Netflix dropping out of the quest to absorb Warner Bros. Discovery to the delight of CBS’ parent, Paramount Skydance, I was depressed to see the following on Facebook:

“Trump’s billionaire allies will now own CNN, Fox News, CBS, WaPo, WSJ and NY Post — plus 185+ local TV stations and news in 100 markets.

“They also control X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, TikTok, Truth and Twitch.

“They control the AI you’re integrating into your lives, the algorithms feeding your content, and your personal data you’ve given up for access.

“This is all by design to manipulate and surveil us, and we’re not talking enough about it.

“Pay attention.”

As a lifelong CBS News watcher I have always been impressed by the quality of its journalism. Its anchors, correspondents, reporters, producers and editors have been top notch, never shrinking from calling out politicians and other notables and entities. 

The Tiffany Network has much to lose if it abandons its sense of balance and objectivity. We are living during times of stress on our institutions and political system. 

Growing Up: One of my best friends as a youngster growing up in the 1950s-early 1960s was Richie Posner. Richie lived three doors down from my home, in the corner house on Avenue W and East 18th Street in Brooklyn. 

Though we didn’t talk a lot about it, Richie’s cousin was singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. It was the heyday of Sedaka’s career. Sedaka grew up a few miles from our homes. Sedaka was 10 years older than us. I never met him. He died Friday (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/arts/music/neil-sedaka-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share).

I lost touch with Richie after we graduated from Brooklyn College. 

What Happens After Noon January 20, 2029

I’m not sure if I should be relieved or angry that my cable company somehow failed to process my desire to record Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Though saved the angst of watching the blowhard distort reality with his weave of falsehoods, lies and obfuscations, I retain my journalist’s drive to witness events firsthand. I know I could easily conjure up the specter on several Internet channels, but I really do not have the stamina to subject myself to this aberration of American politics. So, no hard feelings, FIOS. 

The reality is, Trump is a force larger than nature, the likes of which America has not seen in nearly a century. 

Few people are alive from the last time an activist president transformed America and our government. 

In just his first and second terms of office, Franklin Delano Roosevelt created watershed legislation and federal programs that raised the spirits of a country humbled by the Great Depression: Social Security. Unemployment compensation. Minimum wage regulations. The National Recovery Administration. The Civilian Conservation Corp. The Tennessee Valley Authority. The National Labor Relations Board. The Works Progress Administration. The Securities and Exchange Commission. The Public Works Administration. 

Reviled by the upper class, FDR was revered by many, so much so that his picture hung in many households. He achieved almost cult-like status. 

Like the present day occupant of the White House, Roosevelt was among the richest of Americans. But his focus was on improving the lives of the common man and woman. He did it not with bombast or ridicule but with savvy communication skills of the era, through fireside radio chats. 

I know three looooong years remain before a new president is to take office. But it is not too early to ponder what might transpire if a Democrat succeeds him, either in 2029 or later. Does he or she immediately strike Trump’s name, picture and other vestiges of his inglorious self-aggrandizing tenure from all official buildings, monuments and other federal properties? 

Will we as a nation demand radical change, such as:

*18-year term limits for House and Senate office holders;

*Supreme Court justices may serve up to 25 years or until they turn 80 years old, whichever comes first;

*Mandatory financial disclosure statements from all presidential candidates within two weeks after nominating conventions are held or they are barred from appearing on ballots;

*A more energetic enforcement of the Emolument Clause; 

*Will Democrats have the Federal Communications Commission review the licenses of Fox News and other right wing broadcasters that regularly air proven falsehoods;

*Put into law that no buildings, monuments, coins or other entities can be named for living politicians; 

*Require all federal agents, from the FBI to Homeland Security, to visibly display their badges and faces while wearing functioning body cameras.

These are all tactile corrections to Trumpmania. Our recovery from Trump-induced trauma will take years. But they’re a start, hopefully January 20,  2029. 

Picky, Picky, Picky Eating Habits

 I read with interest the recent New York Times article on the diminished appetite of American children towards vegetables and other healthy foods (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/opinion/junk-food-picky-eaters.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share).

I can relate to that pickiness. Growing up in the 1950s I was a poster boy for underweight kids, though I didn’t have the distended stomach one sees in the truly malnourished. Despite my mother’s nudging and cajoling I partook few foods that would fatten me up beyond the skin and bones that earned me nicknames such as “skinnymalink.” 

My parents, mostly my mother, tried hard to fatten me up. They had my sister make me daily milk shakes spiked with a raw egg. They threatened to send me to a fatten-up farm instead of a traditional summer camp. They relented on that threat but arranged with the camp mother to give me a double portion of afternoon chocolate milk and cookies. 

Nothing worked. 

To this day I am overly conscious of my thin arms and legs. I developed a defense mechanism of joking about my “chicken legs” before others tease me. 

I am convinced I never learned to swim because I hated being seen wearing just a swim suit. Of course, by the time I was an sports-minded teenager I had no shame playing softball, volleyball, soccer, and basketball wearing just shorts, socks and sneakers. 

Ultimately, my thinness paid off. As related in previous blogs, I flunked my Vietnam War era draft physical because I was underweight for my height. The Armed Services required at least 131 pounds over my six foot frame. I tipped the scale at 124 pounds during my physical at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. I’m forever indebted to Dr. Stillman for his protein and water diet that enabled me to lose 10 pounds during the 10 days prior to my physical (https://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2019/12/139-memories-of-draft-lottery-50-years.html).

Though my culinary tastes became more refined after marrying Gilda, I retained aversions to many cooked vegetables. 

TWA changed my diet. Upgraded to first class for a transcontinental flight in the early 1980s, I was served cold asparagus as an appetizer to a steak entree. My only prior experience with asparagus was the limp overcooked version my mother served once. My father was a strictly meat/chicken/potatoes-with-Jewish-rye-bread man, though our preferred baker was in fact Polish. Nothing green graced his dinner table. I followed in his footsteps despite Gilda’s attempts to broaden my palate.

So when a TWA stewardess placed a green asparagus appetizer on the tray before me, I figured I had nothing to lose trying it. The stalks were cold, crisp, delicious. I was converted, so much so that one of the favorite meals I recall included thick, white asparagus served during a business dinner near Dusseldorf, Germany, with executives of Boston Retail Products attending a EuroShop convention in early 1990s. 

Expanding my diet did not mean I forsook some—or any—of my lifelong favorites—breads, cookies, cakes, chocolates. Though I didn’t put on pounds, my cholesterol and triglycerides numbers skyrocketed. 

On a plane on our way to Prague for a speaking engagement in the mid-1990s, Gilda informed me she was tired of my always needing to stop at a bake shop for a quick nosh. Prague is known for its baked delicacies, but Gilda decreed we were immediately starting the Dr. Atkins diet that restricted sweets and carbohydrates in favor of proteins. For the next 10 years we ate a modified Atkins diet, modified in that we consumed fruits and vegetables, but no starches and carbohydrates. My only permitted indulgence was whipped cream, a savory concoction still part of my daily breakfast ritual of nuts and fruit.

My triglycerides, which had peaked above 1,000, are now down to 157. My cholesterol, 139. I’m still a picky eater, but I enjoy a much more well rounded, balanced diet, thanks to Gilda, Dr. Stillman and Dr. Atkins.