With 10 minutes to go before the Pentagon struck Iran for downing a U.S. surveillance plane June 20, 73-year-old President Donald Trump stopped the retaliatory strike backed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton. “We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on three sights when I asked, how many will die,” Trump tweeted today. Trump said his rationale was purely based on proportionality. “Proportionate to the shooting down an unmanned drone,” Trump tweeted, giving his rationale for stopping the strike. Foreign leaders warned Trump against military action, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the planned strike a potential disaster. “Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when the word came to stand down,” reported the New York Times, trying to explain Trump’s decision.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both Iran and the U.S. should do everything possible to deescalate the crisis. Trump heard arguments on both sides but decided a U.S. strike would cause too many casualties. Interviewed by Chuck Todd on NBC, Trump tried to explain his logic. “I said, I want to know something before you go,” Trump recalled. “How many people will be killed—in this case, Iranians. I said, How many people are going to be killed?” Trump asked. Trump said the military told him approximately 150 people would die. “I thought about it for a second and I said, you know what, they shot down an unmanned drone plane whatever you want to call it, and here we are sitting with a 150 dead people, that would have taken place probably within a half an hour after I said go ahead,” Trump said. “And I didn’t like it. I didn’t think—I didn’t think it was proportionate.”
While criticized by the right-and-left, Trump sent a potent message to fence-sitting voters who’ve witnessed since sworn in Jan. 20, 2017 that Trump was an impulsive, self-absorbed decision-maker. Trump’s deliberate process shows the kind of wisdom needed in a leader, weighing out all the consequences. Trump’s decision to interview with Trump-bashing Chuck Todd shows there’s something much more at stake for Trump’s decision: He wanted to show voters he has the right temperament to make the big decisions as president. That runs counter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) often accusing Trump of throwing tantrums. Faced with a military decision, Trump listened to his advisors, both military and civilian, and did what he thought was right. Even Pelosi acknowledged today, it was the right decision.
Surprised by Trump’s decision to stand down, retired U.S. Naby Adm. Jim Starvidis, who also served four years as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, found Trump decision puzzling. “Bottom line, I can’t think of an instance where a decision has gotten pulled back, if that’s what actually happened,” Starvidis said. Starvidis told NPR that he thought Trump’s decision will be viewed a “indecisive.” In the U.S. system, the military takes orders from civilian leadership, like the president. When you consider the possible consequences of striking Iran, Trump’s idea of proportionality makes perfect sense. “These are the time when you wish you had Jim Mattis still in that seat,” Starvidis said, referring to the former defense secretary. But Stavidis is kidding himself to think that Mattis would have overridden Trump, when the two did not see eye-to-eye on important defense issues.
What bothers Democrats now that the public has seen Trump’s more cautious, deliberative side is that the public will like what they see. If you only listened to Democrats and their backers in the press, you’d think Trump had the worst decision-making possible. Iran insists, without proof, that the RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance drone strayed into Iranian airspace. U.S. officials have the GPS and radar proof that the drone was 34 kilometer [21 miles] from Iranian airspace Whatever the dispute, Trump said it best, “Iran made a big mistake.” Whether or not Iran likes it or not, Trump reserved the right to respond to Iran’s attack on a U.S. Air Force asset, at the time of his choosing. Calling off the strike was a brilliant strategy, leaving Iran on pins-and-needles, not knowing what comes next. “You’ll soon find out,” Trump told reporters, regarding what, if anything, would happen next.
Iran claims the unmanned RQ-4A drone was followed closely by a 35-man P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane, roughly the size of a Boeing 737, suggesting they could have downed it too. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] Gen. Amir Hajizadeh confirmed that he chose not to fire on the P-8 Poseidon because of the loss of life. Trump was wrong when he said he thought the shoot-down was a mistake. IRGC Chief Hossein Salami confirmed yesterday that the drone-attack was a deliberate, carefully planned operation. Trump’s decision to stand down until a time-of-his-choosing is consistent with his military philosophy that you don’t telegraph to your enemy—or the press—what you’re going to do in the way of any action. Showing that he’s not swayed by his Cabinet or military advisers, Trump proved that he’s worthy of serving as commander-in-chief.
