If you don’t listen to James O’Brien on LBC, you’re missing out on some insight how the ex-US views the US. If we think the decision process behind something like the decision to go into Iran is inscrutable within US, for people outside the US it is even less clear. Because, and I know this is hard for some Americans to understand, they have their own problems on which to focus. Unfortunately, they’re dragged back into US politics because the US has such an outsized influence on other countries. While it’s a matter of UK internal politics of the Greens do well in by-elections, and Americans don’t care, people in the UK watch US congressional contests. I can assure you, having listened to the show, it is by far unwillingly.

The question that came up is “why the Iran policy?” Which lead to what I think of as superficial, sexy, and fun answers. He’s senile. He’s covering for the Epstein files. He’s bored. He wants to subvert the midterms, and so on. These are some of the same reasons we go through in the US when we ask the same question. And I still think they’re shallow. I’m not saying they aren’t part of the picture. Maybe some go unstated but in the minds of all parties concerned, are present. Even the cabinet meetings likely have a quiet part they don’t say out loud.

For the same reason it looks like we’re gearing up to land marines, or we sunk a ship with a torpedo, I think Trump wants to wash himself in World War II nostalgia. A kind of mini-remake of the D-Day landing or the island hopping in the pacific. A throwback to “classic” American military might. And to have that WWII halo rub off on the administration. Because much of WWII is a myth we constructed in hind-sight. That we were sure of our policies and our intentions, and that our nation was completely aligned on winning the war.

It’s the same reason they’re releasing these ridiculous mashups of AI generated content, combined with video game footage, and actual war footage. They want it to be cool, rah-rah, patriotic the way most people view the mythology of World War II. I think, for many, it was a sense of obligation, or willing duty, or unwilling duty, but for many it was getting it done to go back home. The disdain for propaganda by many soldiers is not just a Hollywood trope. In many wars you have men who did not choose to be there and when they were there fought for the men beside them, more than gung-ho patriotism.

They want this to rub off on them and on Trump, and the whole of the administration. The men who conducted the war at the cabinet level sometimes left to become household names, and even presidents. They served in many administrations. And went onto the boards of many companies. Hegseth likely wants bases and schools named after him. Rubio obviously wants to be president. I’m not sure what Bessent’s fantasy is, but likely more based on future remuneration than a number of Junior High Schools named after him. Just as Trump needs and wants this to work for his future legacy, they need it to work and be popular for their futures as well.

But this is the exact opposite of how you make great and well remembered leaders. You start with ordinary leaders. They are presented a challenge. They overcome obstacles to meet the challenge. And then win to tell the tale. The Trump administration is going in the exact opposite order. They want to win to tell the tale, but pretending to overcome obstacles. To do that, they need to create a challenge. It’s like the guy that tells you for hours and hours martial arts are for self defense, to be the good guy, so he picks bar fights to prove it.

WWII is an amazing story not because the United States was the most powerful country on the face of the Earth. It had a lot of economic heft, but the army, was small. The US standing army was about 175,000 with just the Italians boasting of a 1,000,000 in service. The navy was stronger because the US protected its trade routes, but the US did not spend on weapons as did other countries. There was no separate Air Force, as it was part of the Army. There were 125,000 marines in 1939. The US was still recovering from the depression, an economic catastrophe so dire that even industry leaders contemplated soviet style government take overs to save their companies.

This is not WWII, and no matter how much torpedo footage they can produce by finding Iranian boats in torpedo range, they will not create a WWII halo. Again, this is backwards thinking. This isn’t bringing Americans together. It’s further dividing them. It isn’t a country becoming a super-power, it’s a country in super-power status. This isn’t the plucky underdog that has to build a massive, professional army, a large marine force, and air power to defeat well equipped, battle hardened, and so-far victorious enemies. This is David and Goliath but we’re not David.