From Bush’s Boots to Trump’s Flip-Flops

How Trump erased commanders, martyrs, and momentum with one signature.

Humiliation has a smell, and today it reeks of defeat. The memorandum of understanding now inked means Israel must accept not only its setback against Iran and Lebanon, but also Hamas. That bitter pill is hard to swallow. In mere months, the balance of power has spun 180 degrees. Iran is no longer the target of the script—it is the author. Gone are the days when Israel could strike Hezbollah wherever and whenever it pleased. Now Hezbollah holds the same freedom, striking Israel at will. It is painful, undeniable: a defeat. Donald Trump once thundered about obliterating Iran’s nuclear program. He obliterated nothing. The only thing reduced to rubble was America’s credibility as Israel’s steadfast ally.

Israel was not saved by Trump, nor by his army, nor by his boasts. Israel was saved by its own IDF.

And let us not forget: Israel is a nuclear power. Even if Iran were to acquire the bomb, Israel’s deterrent ensures Tehran would be obliterated before the IRGC could push the button. In truth, Israel is not a liability but a necessity for the United States in the region—a cornerstone of its strategic posture.

Trump, you made us live in a beautiful dream of democracy, freedom, and peace—alongside the Iranian people to whom you promised help was on its way. But you are not a man of your word. You are a liar, a performer, a man of dancing and hanging out with young girls—that is your style. You should never have been in the position of commanding the magnificence of the US Army. No, you are not made for that. You are no Napoleon, no Alexander the Great. Did you hear what Ghalibaf said today? Yes, you did.

But let me be lean on Trump as well: an air campaign never defeated an enemy. That is the truth of the matter. You need boots on the ground, otherwise you achieve nothing. The American public is against it now, but when nuclear bombs start rocking the world, they will understand. Trump put himself in a cage by refusing to follow the politics of his Republican predecessor Bush. If the Iraq war was unnecessary, this war is inevitable. Saddam Hussein didn’t have nuclear weapons—but Ghalibaf does. And it feels like no Haniyeh was dead, no “Pager” operation, no Hassan Nasrallah’s death, no Khamenei, no commanders of Hamas or Hezbollah, nor the IRGC’s generals gone. It feels like no sacrifice at all. Trump dished away those victories, handing them over in his humiliating deal with Iran.

This was the same Trump who bragged of saving Israel, but the record shows otherwise. He abandoned his ally, leaving Iran to bully and Israel to bleed. The Middle East has seen many mirages of power, but none as glaring as Trump’s flip‑flops.