Trump prefers collapsing world economy to admitting defeat in his criminal Iran war

Trump prefers collapsing world economy to admitting defeat in his criminal Iran war

That was some phony 2 week ceasefire President Trump agreed to with Iran. When Iran refused Trump’s impossible demands presented by amateur US diplomats Vance, Witkoff and Kushner, Trump essentially resumed the war with his imaginary blockade of all Iranian shipping delivering the world’s oil.

Trump still hasn’t ruled out resuming his murderous but ineffective bombing campaign or launching a possible ground invasion to extract Iran’s enriched uranium or snatch its oil infrastructure on Kharg Island. He’s sending 10,000 more ground troops to bolster the 50,000 waiting around to either to nothing, or face major destruction if dropped into Iran.

To show the extent of US war failure, 6,000 troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush and accompanying warships had to skip the short route through the Mediterranean to go around the much longer southern Africa route, due to the Houthis’ threat to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. As a result Trump won’t have his 60,000 troop force in place till early May.

Trump must know he has no path to anything remotely resembling victory. No regime change. No end to nuclear enrichment. No end to Iran’s missile stockpile. Most importantly, no reopening to the Strait of Hormuz and renewed flow of Middle East oil.

He’s also likely still controlled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who convinced Trump to launch the war on February 28 and has been sabotaging the ceasefire with his ghastly bombing of Lebanon. While Trump desperately wants out of the lost war, Netanyahu demands it continue till Iran is destroyed as an Israeli rival. Why Trump remains under Netanyahu’s control is both horrifying and may forever remain a mystery.

Trump is now a shell of the former war president who gloried in bombing 7 nations and snatching Venezuelan President Maduro to capture his oil. He’s trapped with no way out except admitting defeat by ending the war on Iran’s sensible terms.

But Trump’s lifelong delusion of his invincibility in anything he does prevents him from facing the reality of the unfolding world catastrophe he initiated.

At present, Trump resuming murderous war and precipitating worldwide economic collapse appear more likely than seeking peace, albeit certifying US defeat. Unless Congress acts to defund Trump’s $200 billion request to continue this catastrophe, or the Cabinet, led by Veep Vance, removes Trump via the 25th Amendment, things will only get dramatically, possibly infinitely worse.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

Hitchcock would have loved Trump’s MacGuffin to launch Iran war if it were a movie, not a real life catastrophe

Hitchcock would have loved Trump’s MacGuffin to launch Iran war if it were a movie, not a real life catastrophe

Movie buffs, especially fans of suspense director Alfred Hitchcock, know what a MacGuffin is: a plot device in the form of a simply made up desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues in furtherance of making a thrilling, suspenseful movie. For Hitchcock it was the plans for the airplane engine (39 Steps) or the uranium ore stored in vintage wine bottles (Notorious). Everyone knows the most famous MacGuffin in filmdom, the black bird that drove the narrative in John Huston's Maltese Falcon.

But neither Huston nor Hitchcock could have come up with a more bizarre MacGuffin for America's senseless real life war blowing up the Middle East and possibly the world economy than Trump’s MacGuffin, an imminent Iranian nuke.

Since Iran posed no threat whatsoever to the Homeland over 6,000 miles away, Trump simply made up the fiction that Iran was a couple weeks away from building a bomb, and more ominously, could detonate it over America as well.

No matter that Iran has never built a bomb, pleaded never to build a bomb, and was in full compliance with Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal which guaranteed they’d never build one. No matter that Trump sabotaged Obama’s nuclear agreement to prepare for the day he could attack Iran to prevent its building and detonating a bomb that his entire intelligence community determined was preposterous.

Hitchcock’s Macguffins worked perfectly to create some of the most suspenseful, thrilling and scary movies in filmdom. But Trump’s MacGuffin backfired spectacularly, killing thousands in Iran and neighboring countries, choking off 20% of the world’s oil supply, damaging all 13 US Gulf States bases and turning Trump into the biggest loser in US military history. And to hammer a nail into Trump’s defeat he has no way out of the impending global catastrophe he started with his cockamamie MacGuffin.

And up in Celluloid Heaven, Hitchcock might be muttering: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I've created 57 MacGuffins for my 57 films, but none compares to Trump’s Mother of All MacGuffins....Iran’s imaginary nuke.”

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition

Media finally acknowledging Israel’s central role in Trump’s criminal war on Iran

Media finally acknowledging Israel’s central role in Trump’s criminal war on Iran

For the first 5 weeks of President Trump’s criminal war on Iran, mainstream media pretended this was totally a US war to defend the Homeland by destroying Iran’s nuclear bomb capability and neutering its missile arsenal. Israel was barely mentioned tho they started the war by assassinating Iranian leader Ali Khamenei. Israel’s relentless bombing of Iran was largely ignored to focus on the devastating US bombing. Also ignored was Iran’s robust retaliation causing the greatest damage to Israel in its 78 year history.

The reality is that on February 28th Israel realized its three decade dream of getting a US President to serve as Israel’s proxy to destroy Iran as Israel’s last hegemonic rival in the Middle East. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spent the entire 21st century lobbying George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump in term one and Joe Biden to take out Iran. Netanyahu finally hit pay dirt with Donald Trump in term two. On February 11 Netanyahu met with Trump, assuring him that once Israel assassinated Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, the regime would collapse within a few days with Iran’s populous rallying around their US liberators.

Gigantic mistake. The Iranian populous coalesced around the regime which retaliated with devastating effectiveness, not only inflicting massive damage on US, Israeli resources but shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, inflicting worldwide economic decline.

Knowing he’s lost, Trump is seeking an off ramp to save his presidency. Netanyahu, the lead actor in this lost war, will have none of it. He’s sabotaging the ceasefire Trump agreed to which would have allowed Iran to survive, retain control of the Strait and keep its nuclear enrichment and its defensive missile arsenal. Netanyahu’s massive bombing of Lebanon, forbidden by Iran’s 10 Point peace plan, makes the ceasefire hanging by a thread.

Mainstream media has taken note, beginning to allow analysts to publicly state this was largely Netanyahu’s war, not Trump’s. MSNOW’s Jen Psaki gave former Secretary of State John Kerry, who negotiated the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, extensive time to review Netanyahu’s endless demands that US presidents destroy Iran on their behalf. Kerry noted how Netanyahu hyped the imminent Iranian nuclear threat to each president which was swallowed whole only by President Trump. A neuclear agreement meant nothing to Netanyahu. Regime change in failed state Iran was the sole goal.

The more mainstream media tells the truth about Israel’s central role in Trump’s lost war upending the world economy, the more Trump will be pressured to break with Israel. Whatever Netanyahu has on Trump, whether the hundreds of millions in campaign cash or scandalous Epstein secrets, must be disregarded if Trump has any chance of salvaging his presidency, and more importantly, the world economy.

Keep it up mainstream news. Expose the dirty secret of Trump’s dirty war launched on orders of Benjamin Netanyahu. If Trump does cut off the weapons train, Israel’s rampage against Iran Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and others may be over. Time to force Israel to make peace with their neighbors, not endless war.

Mainstream news can assist that noble goal.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL

The Iranian people achieved decisive victory against America’s criminal war on them

The Iranian people achieved decisive victory against America’s criminal war on them

The Chicago Tribune’s editorial ‘There has been no victory yet for the Iranian people’ represents an astonishing betrayal of the urgent need to condemn President’s criminal war on Iran. The Trib’s focus is not on the 42,000 Iranian buildings damaged or destroyed, of which 36,000 were residential homes. The No mention of the school bombed killing over 150 little girls, among over 3,000 dead Iranians Trump murdered in his senseless war. Absent was any mention the US began the war with a heinous war crime, greenlighting Israel’s assassinating Iranian ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Stating the Trib was “relieved” Trump didn’t kill off Iranian civilization as threatened, a genocidal war crime, without the most urgent of condemnations is deplorable.

The Trib states both the US and Iran declaring victory is “hardly surprising.” That certainly applies to Trump’s America which can never admit defeat, but not Iran. They punched back with astonishing effectiveness. Their tens of thousands of well-hidden missiles shot down US planes, sent aircraft carriers scurrying beyond their range, badly damaged US Gulf States bases requiring thousands of US personnel to be relocated to hotels.

Result? Trump cried uncle and entered into a tenuous ceasefire without achieving a single of the shifting war objectives.

Worse yet? The US war failure shut down the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off a fifth of the worldwide oil supply. This has sent the world economy teetering toward recession, if not depression.

Trump’s acceptance of Iran’ s 10 point ceasefire plan as a basis for upcoming negotiations verifies Trump’s catastrophic loss. It requires end to US criminal war with no further attacks on Iran, Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities and defensive missile arsenal. US to leave the Middle East. US to end all sanctions on Iran. US to pay reparations for war damage.

Most disappointing in the Trib’s Iran war editorial is regurgitating Trump’s “three justifiable reasons....for this war” All three are nonsense. Did it occur to the Trib Editorial Board that if those reasons were truly justifiable, the Trib should be encouraging Trump to press on to total victory?

The editorial concludes “that inevitably leads us to an accounting that little has been achieved. A hollow victory at a heavy price.” Indeed, nothing was achieved but senseless death and destruction, the US possibly on the way out of the region, and the world economy in jeopardy from the US handing over the Strait of Hormuz to an emboldened and soon to be prosperous Iran.

Sure sounds like a resounding Iranian victory and US loss to this observer.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL

Trump’s vaunted 14 day ceasefire barely lasted 14 hours

 Trump’s vaunted 14 day ceasefire barely lasted 14 hours

Israel, not happy that Trump abandoned their lust to destroy Iran as a hegemonic rival, blew up the two week ceasefire Pakistan negotiated Tuesday.

How? By launching a massive bombing campaign on Beirut Lebanon killing over 200 and injuring over 500. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “The two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” Trump called it “a separate skirmish. Yeah, they were not included in the deal, because of Hezbollah. Veep Vance called Iran’s claim the ceasefire included Israeli attacks on Lebanon "a misunderstanding."

Netanyahu, Trump and Vance all lied as Pakistan’s Prime Minister , Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the ceasefire deal, said it includes Lebanon. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, didn’t mince words in blasting US, Israeli perfidy upending the ceasefire “The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments — a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” He noted that President Trump announced the ceasefire by stating Iran’s 10 point proposal “was a good basis for negotiations.” Next day Trump had his press spokesperson Caroline Leveatt proclaim that Trump had the proposal “throne in the garbage.”

As a result Israel’s grisly bombardment on Beirut with Trump’s support and death weapons made a mockery of the ceasefire on Day One. Iran has announced the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed till the ceasefire is truly implemented. The world economy will continue to head downward. Thousands will suffer and die. Vance and the two amateur diplomates Jarad Kushner and Steve Witkoff he’s supervising, may fine empty Iranian chairs at the planed ceasefire negotiations in Pakistan tomorrow.

And the Big Fool in the White House, like the crazed captain demanding his troops continue crossing the impassable Big Muddy, will bellow ‘Push on.’

Trump pivots from "destroying Iranian civilization" to complete surrender in one day

 Trump pivots from "destroying Iranian civilization" to complete surrender in one day

 

Even a mentally degraded Donald Trump had to face reality. The US lost the war intended to destroy Iran as a hegemonic rival to Israel in the region.

 

He cancelled his announced war crimes to “destroy Iranian civilization” and agreed to a two week ceasefire as a prelude for negotiating permanent peace based on Iran’s 10 point peace plan. Note that is not Trump’s 15 point peace plan which would have given Trump complete victory.

 

Here’s some of what Trump’s ceasefire acknowledges.

 

A guarantee that Iran will not be attacked again.

 

A permanent end to the war, not just a ceasefire.

 

An end to Israeli strikes in Lebanon and against Iranian allies.

 

The lifting of all US sanctions on Iran.

 

Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

 

US to leave the Middle East

 

End to US sanctions on Iran and release of frozen Iranian assets

 

In his delusional state, Trump announced the cease fire due to his astonishing claim his “war has already met and all Military objectives, and we are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning long term PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”

 

Iran announced the ceasefire “does not signify the termination of the war. Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force,”

 

Major hurtles must be overcome before the ceasefire holds and genuine peace can be negotiated. Israel is horrified by this development upending their 4 decade lust to destroy its Iranian hegemonic rival. It’s reported they are still bombing Iran and Iran is retaliating. No keen observer is optimistic the ceasefire will hold.

 

But it is not likely the US, clearly defeated in every make up war aim they floated to justify criminal war that killed thousands, damaged every US base in the region, brought the worst damage to Israel in its 78 years, and is crushing the world economy, can ever restart this deranged madness.

 

But with Trump in charge…you can never say never.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

Former presidents must call for end to Trump’ criminal Iran war destabilizing the world…but won’t

Former presidents must call for end to Trump’ criminal Iran war destabilizing the world…but won’t

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, like all ex-presidents, tend to refrain from criticizing the current White House occupant. They view themselves as members of the most exclusive American club so are loathe to excoriate their next member joining them upon leaving office. Criticizing the current president is generally political in nature, best left to those still battling in the political arena.

 

But these are no ordinary times. Current President Trump has embarked on a catastrophic war on Iran that besides needlessly killing thousands, is destabilizing the world economy. Iran wins by not losing. The US loses by not winning.

 

All US bases in the region have suffered damage, forcing thousands of US military personnel to evacuate. Israel is being bombed relentlessly by Iran and its allies Hezbollah and the Houthis from Lebanon and Yemen respectively. Not only has Iran choked off a fifth of the world’s oil supply by closing the Strait of Hormuz, they are destroying Gulf States oil production facilities.

 

Iran, Israel, the Gulf States, even the US and the rest of the world may be facing an existential crisis brought on by morally and mentally degraded Trump.

 

Instead of acknowledging his monstrous crimes against Iran and cease hostilities, Trump is double, triple, quadrupling down, threatening Stone Age destruction of Iran with war crimes against civilian infrastructure. He’s clearly become unhinged facing likely the worst self-imposed military disaster in US history, one with calamitous worldwide aftereffects.

 

We need Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden to jump into the national debate. They must call out Trump’s criminal war destabilizing the world economy in strongest words possible. They should request the International Criminal Court indict Trump for war crimes and issue a warrant for his arrest.

 

But instead of lending their status as former presidents to aid the desperate effort to end hostilities, the Former 4 are silent. And it’s not just their collegiality as former presidents preventing their speaking out. All four adhere to American Exceptualism which demands that US wars of choice are never wrong and never to be lost. All four promulgated US world dominance costing hundreds of thousands of lives having nothing whatsoever to do with US national security interests.

 

Clinton bombed Iraq after his cruel economic sanctions killed hundreds of thousands. When asked by CBS News if the half million Iraqi killed by Clinton’s sanctions were worth it, his Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said "I think that is a very hard choice, but the price we think is worth it." Clinton bombed Serbia for 78 days, killing 2,000 to create a fractured Balkans still unsettled three decades later.

 

George W. Bush launched two criminal wars that killed over half a million Iraqis and Afghans along with 7,000 Americans. Both countries remain largely failed states a quarter century on. While the Afghan Taliban booted US troops out in 2021, we’re still defiling Iraq with US troops subject to attack by Iraqis trying to replicate the Taliban’s success.

 

Barack Obama may have succeeded Bush s president, but he couldn’t succeed in removing all US troops from those two sorrowful countries or stopping US servicepersons from being killed there. Inexplicably and senselessly, Obama jumped into the Libyan civil war to oust hated strongman Muammar Ghaddafi. Result? Over 30,000 Libyans dead and another failed state thanks to US meddling. His Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gloated regarding Ghaddafi “We came, was saw, he died.” Grotesque.

 

Joe Biden was the first US president to preside over genocide. He enabled Israel’s near complete destruction of Gaza with tens of billions in genocide weapons that killed over 70,000 while destroying nearly every school, hospital and home for the remaining 2,200,000 Palestinians now living in tents and still be slaughtered by Israeli invaders.

 

Biden also provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine by supporting Ukraine’s war killing thousands of Russian leaning Ukrainians in Ukraine Donbas. He totally dismissed Russia’s security concerns regarding NATO membership for Ukraine that could place NATO nukes on Russia’s borders. Biden knew Russia would invade but lusted to see Russia destroy itself in the process. By following Biden’s astonishing stupidity it was Ukraine that is destroying itself with over a million casualties, a shattered economy and loss forever of a fifth of its most productive territory.

 

No wonder the Former 4 remain silent as Trump rains down death and destruction thruout the Middle East and possibly blows up the world economy. To Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden, Trump is just following their blood soaked US presidential tradition.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

Where are the 6 ‘Don’t follow illegal military orders’ congresspersons when we need them?

Where are the 6 ‘Don’t follow illegal military orders’ congresspersons when we need them?

Last November, six congresspersons, all military/intelligence vets, released a video telling US military and intelligence officials “You do not need to follow illegal orders. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.”

President Trump was apoplectic, hinting the ‘Seditious 6 should be prosecuted, possibly even subject to the death penalty. Actually, he more than just hinted. "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH. HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!”

Since the Seditious 6 were exercising free speech and referencing legal response to illegal military orders, the story vanished within days.

Fast forward 3 months. President Trump launches an illegal, immoral; indeed, criminal war on Iran. In 36 days it’s killed over 3,000, caused massive damage to the entire region including all US Gulf States bases, Iran, Israel and vital energy resources. More ominous, it’s choked off 20% of the world’s oil supply, presaging worldwide recession, possibly even depression. More ominous still, Trump has no path to victory, ensuring it will continue killing and destroying endlessly.

This represents a perfect opportunity for the Seditious 6 congresspersons to use this ghastly, illegal war to reaffirm to every service member that they can, should, must disobey Trump’s illegal orders to make criminal war on Iran.

Where are you Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep Chris Deluzio, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, and Rep Maggie Goodlander? You told military personnel to “not give up the ship.” You gave up the ship of refusing to obey illegal orders on February 28 when the war began. Thirty-six days later you are still AWOL from the urgency of reaffirming to every service person they can, should, must disobey orders to conduct criminal war.

Your silence while the Middle East, possibly the world crumbles, is deafening.

Divergent paths for 2 billionaires putting balls in holes

Divergent paths for 2 billionaires putting balls in holes

Michael Jordon became a billionaire throwing (or stuffing) big balls in 10 foot high hoops. Current wealth $3.6 billion.

Tiger Woods became a billionaire hitting little balls with a club into little holes in the grass. Current wealth $1.3 billion.

Sure is a bizarre culture that makes billionaires of men who can put balls into holes better than any other men.

Both are now retired but both turned up in the news recently under dramatically different circumstances.

First up was Tiger who incurred his fourth serious vehicle incident, over the past 17 years. The last, March 27, found him arrested for DUI after he clipped another vehicle causing serious damage to both. Tiger destroyed what remained of his golf career as player, advisor, spokesman. He’s apparently withdrawn from public view to seek treatment for personal issues.

A few days later Michael Jordan showed up in the media basking in the glory of his fabulous post basketball life as a major player in the wildly popular NASCAR circuit. In 2020 he bought in as co -founder of the NASCAR team 23XI Racing with legendary driver and three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin.

Jordan’s off track NASCAR connection is even more amazing. Jordan filed an antitrust lawsuit in October 2024 with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. He alleged NASCAR was being run like a monopoly, controlling which tracks were used, what car supplies were allowed, and giving teams restricted, limited charters to compete in races. In December 2025, NASCAR reached a landmark settlement giving all teams evergreen charters with improved terms. Jordan called it a game-changer. NASCAR is now the second major US sport Jordan has transformed.

During his interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Jordan, 63, was asked if he likes to drive fast. “Not me…I like to drive slow.” Jordan said he wouldn't change a thing about his life or career, embracing both his mistakes and the lessons they brought, and crediting the relationships he's built along the way as part of what shaped who he is today. "If it ends today, you know, I will have a smile on my face, 100%.

Don’t know if Tiger has ever crossed paths with fellow sports billionaire ‘His Airness’, but they certainly should now. Tiger could get some tips on how to drive safely…and how to use his billion plus to put a smile on his face.

Walt Zlotow  Glen Ellyn IL