Trump has cornered himself with his war in Iran | Sidney Blumenthal

The president needs a quick win to avoid a quagmire – but he needs a long war to justify potential emergency powersDonald Trump has trapped himself in his war with Iran by announcing that his . That uncertain objective is linked to his most urgent objective at home. While pursuing regime change in Iran, he is desperately attempting to stop regime change through the midterm elections. He needs a swift victory in Iran to avoid a quagmire, but he needs a long war to attempt the assertion of unconstitutional emergency authority over the electoral process.Plunging into war followed Trump’s signature style: he negotiated in bad faith, turned to bombing when the sides were making “significant progress”, to Oman’s foreign minister, was heedless of international law, and shut out congressional consultation. He as his imperative Iranian “imminent threats”, which the Pentagon congressional staffers after Operation Epic Fury began was simply without basis in fact. There was no intelligence suggesting an “imminent threat”. Where’s the WMD?