What If Trump's Iran Gamble Pays Off?

[Silent Type]

2. Interesting that the writer ends with "[some semblance of success] could be the biggest risk of all."

"But those of us who abhor these attacks should also consider the possibility that they just might succeed. Surely Iran was not pursuing nuclear capacity mainly for civilian purposes; Iran was pursuing a nuclear deterrent. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded as much in its latest report of May 31. And while others in the administration have walked back Trump’s claim that the attacks wiped out Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, they certainly set it back.

"Having stumbled from mishap to mishap in his domestic policies, Trump believes that he has achieved a triumph that has long eluded him. And Trump is never more dangerous than when he thinks he is prevailing.

"If Trump can restrain himself from more military adventures and genuinely treat the bombings as a one-off, and if Netanyahu can resist the temptation to further obliterate Iran—two very big ifs—it’s possible that the U.S., Israel, Iran, and Russia will settle into yet another phase of an armed truce. And both Netanyahu and Trump can claim vindication.

"That could be the biggest risk of all."