Andrea Widburg - American Thinker
Trump hates war, but he understands that the mullahs are not interested in peace, and if there’s going to be war, it’ll be fast, powerful, and on Trump’s terms.
"Winston Churchill didn’t actually say that “jaw-jaw is better than war-war.” What he said was, “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war,” a saying that became pithier over time. Either way, Churchill made clear that, while he never intended to be taken for a ride as Neville Chamberlain was in 1938 (although Chamberlain was struggling with the fact that Britain had no meaningful military at the time), he did recognize that war’s destruction should always be avoided, if possible.
"Donald Trump understands that, too. He has made it remarkably clear that he has no intention of becoming a “war president.” Indeed, he’s the only president in recent history who, to date, has not started a war. What he has done, all over the world, is to use his understanding of human psychology, along with America’s economic power, to stop wars.
"But Trump, like Churchill in 1938, also understands that there are certain wars that cannot be stopped. Instead, they must be confronted sooner because they’re only going to be worse later. That’s certainly the case with Iran. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it will effectively hold the whole world hostage.
"The same fanatically religious government that slaughters its own people will not have a problem with unleashing nuclear Armageddon on its enemies. Indeed, the mullahs’ ideology leads them to embrace Armageddon.
Both Judaism and Christianity foresee an apocalyptic moment, but they’re not trying to hasten its arrival. What differs about the Iranian version is that Iran believes that its role is not simply to be a passive, albeit faithful, observer of the End of Days, which is how Christians and Jews approach the subject. Instead, it will trigger the End of Days." . . . More...
Trump’s masterful statement about the attack on Iran; Andrea Widburg
. . . "What I’m worried about is the home front. We know that the left will be hysterical in their defense of the cruel Iranian regime. We also know that many on the right will frame the war either as (1) an unnecessary defense of Israel, as if Iran hasn’t been waging unrelenting war against America and the West since 1979, a war that cannot be allowed to go nuclear, or as (2) an offense to the isolationist strain in the Republican party. Given those forces, it’s imperative that Trump make his case to the American people.
"Thankfully, in his first statement about the strike, I think he did make that case. It was a short and, to my mind, masterful statement." . . .
President Donald J. Trump on the United States military combat operations in Iran: pic.twitter.com/LimJmpLkgZ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2026
(You can read the full text here.)
Trump closed by telling the Iranian people that, finally, an American president listened to their cries for relief from this tyranny:
. . . "So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.
"This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.
"Once, Persia’s Cyrus was the savior of the Jewish people. Perhaps today, America’s own Cyrus will be the savior of the Persian people."
