Trump Told Defense Head He Doesn’t Want To Go To War With Iran

(FILES) In this picture dated July 18, 2017 US President Donald Trump and Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan (R), are seen during a cabinet meeting on July 18, 2018, at the White House in Washington, DC. - ... (FILES) In this picture dated July 18, 2017 US President Donald Trump and Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan (R), are seen during a cabinet meeting on July 18, 2018, at the White House in Washington, DC. - Donald Trump on December 23, 2018 announced he would replace Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with his deputy Patrick Shanahan, days after the outgoing Pentagon chief quit while citing key policy differences with the US president. "I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019," the Republican leader tweeted, accelerating Mattis's planned departure by two months. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump told acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan this week that he didn’t want to go to war with Iran, according to a Thursday New York Times report.

Despite saber-rattling by Trump administration officials like National Security Adviser John Bolton and State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Trump made it clear to Shanahan that he doesn’t want to escalate conflict with Iran into full-blown war.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Trump was getting irritated with Bolton and Flynn for their “warlike” strategy with Iran.

“They are getting way out ahead of themselves, and Trump is annoyed,” an official told the Post. “There was a scramble for Bolton and Pompeo and others to get on the same page.”

Naturally, POTUS is denying any infighting and accusing the “Fake News” of making it up.

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Notable Replies

  1. What a crock…pure manipulation. He has already started his “Wag the Dog” narrative for justifying war with Iran with his bogus claim that “he heard some bad stories about Iran”!

  2. “This stinks worse than a pair of armored trousers after the Hundred Years War!”

    (“Baldrick, have you been eating dung again?”)

  3. Avatar for daled daled says:

    Some of my advisers want to attack…some of them don’t want to…I don’t WANT to attack…but make no mistake we could attack…and it would be a very decisive attack…I’ll be making a decision very soon…we’ll see what happens

  4. I wouldn’t be surprised, at all, if it was Rump who was being manipulated by Pompeo & 'Stache. They’re the ones who really and truly want to go to war with Iran. I think Rump is being wagged by the Pompeo dog. What Rump wants is entirely irrelevant, good or bad. They either want war with Venezuela or Iran. Putin apparently has let the regime know to keep their hands off the South Amer. country. So, Iran it is.

    Pompeo & 'Stache are the ones driving the car off the cliff.

  5. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    Silly question, I know, but does anyone (including Trump himself) have any idea what he wants to do with Iran? Other than Putin?

    We had a perfectly fine nuclear agreement that he trashed with nothing to replace it. Kind of like the ACA. Hmm…wonder what they have in common.

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