Donald Trump's White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up options for striking Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, The Atlantic reported on Wednesday, citing two administration officials.
The war is unpopular. Gas is over $4 a gallon. Republicans are trailing. And the plan on the table is more bombs, timed for the final weeks of the campaign.
What The Atlantic Reported
According to reporters Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan Lemire, U.S. Central Command is developing the strike options. The size of any strike, the targets and whether Trump will give the order are still being debated. No final decision has been made.
Officials tied the planning to Trump's desire to show progress in the war and on gas prices before voters head to the polls. Backers of a strike think it could let him claim a military success right before Election Day.
Even Supporters Admit It Won't Fix ANYTHING
Here is the part that should alarm every voter. Even the people pushing for a pre-election strike concede it would not get a deal with Tehran, would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and would not bring down gas prices before November 3, according to the report.
So what is it for? The answer, per The Atlantic's sources, is optics. A strike would give Republicans something to point to after months of a stalled war that is dragging down their candidates.
The Pentagon Is Already Getting Ready
This is not just talk. The Pentagon told Central Command several days ago to finish preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran, Axios reported. A renewed campaign would likely include heavy strikes on Iranian energy, infrastructure and nuclear sites, with Israel taking part.
Trump's national security team spent hours at Camp David on Friday, and part of that meeting focused on restarting the war, an Israeli official told Axios. Another Israeli official said the odds of a pre-election strike are not high, but "after the midterms the chances of it happening increase significantly."
Trump Says He Doesn't Even Want a Deal
Hours after the reports broke, Trump took the stage at a campaign rally in San Antonio and waved off diplomacy. "I think the deal isn't really something that I want to do," he told the crowd.
Talks have gone nowhere. Qatari mediators are still waiting on Iran's answer to a U.S. counterproposal, and Trump already rejected Tehran's last offer. At the UN last month, he said he expects a deal after the midterms, or he will "annihilate" the country.
Republicans Are Running From This War
Trump's own party knows the war is killing them. At least 17 Republican incumbents and statewide candidates have called for an end to the war, including Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers and Ohio Sen. Jon Husted.
Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson flipped her position last month, saying Iowans "shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump" for the war. In Texas, Republican Ken Paxton was asked what is dragging his Senate campaign down. "It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel," he said.
The Price Americans Are Already Paying
The Pentagon officially counts 19 U.S. service members killed in the war and more than 820 wounded. Internal tallies put the death toll as high as 23. The Congressional Budget Office says the war cost the Pentagon $38 billion through July, and it is burning $2 to $3 billion more every month.
At home, the national average for gas is $4.36 a gallon, a record for this time of year. It was $2.98 the day the bombing started. Only about a third of Americans support the war, an all-time low in Silver Bulletin's average.
What the White House Says
The White House did not answer questions about timing. An official told reporters the president "has all options available at any time" and claimed the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz while Iran's economy collapses.
A Pentagon official said only that its job is to present military options to the president. Some of Trump's own advisers reportedly prefer waiting until after the election, worried that American troops killed in a new round of fighting could hurt Republican candidates.
The Bottom Line
The war Trump started has cost American lives, $38 billion and record gas prices. Now his White House is reportedly shopping for a pre-election strike that even its supporters admit won't fix any of that. Voters can decide on November 3 whether Republicans deserve a reward for it.
Sources: The Atlantic (Nancy A. Youssef, Jonathan Lemire), Axios (Barak Ravid), The Hill (Laura Kelly), CNBC, Daily Mail (Stephen M. Lepore), Jerusalem Post, Anadolu Agency, ABC News, USA Today, The Independent, Roll Call, AAA, Silver Bulletin.