New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman criticized President Donald Trump's Iran war strategy, writing that going to war without an international coalition and a political plan for the aftermath weakened Washington's position.
In his column, Friedman noted that the common thread among Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Russian President Vladimir Putin was arrogance. He said all three leaders made strategic mistakes by thinking they were the smartest, and surrounded themselves with advisers who told them what they wanted to hear rather than the truth.
The author particularly highlighted Netanyahu's calculations regarding Iran. He stressed that the Israeli Prime Minister's assumption that military strikes alone could topple the Iranian regime and that Israel could shape the post-regime period and install a new leadership in Tehran was a strategic mistake.
Friedman argued that Mossad carried out complex assassinations but lacked the capacity to understand political and social transformations in target countries. He described the plan, revealed by The New York Times, for Mossad to bring former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power after regime change in Iran as 'a profound misunderstanding of Iranian history.'
Also criticizing the Trump administration's justifications for going to war with Iran, Friedman wrote that despite warnings from U.S. officials about unrealistic scenarios, Trump believed in regime change through military force. He noted that this gave Iran the opportunity to use low-cost pressure tools, such as threatening navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Touching on Putin's mistake in Ukraine, the author noted that the Russian leader acted on the belief that Russians and Ukrainians were one people and that the Ukrainian government would quickly collapse, and that Russian intelligence fed Moscow what it wanted to hear.
Friedman wrote that although Netanyahu achieved military gains against Hamas and Hezbollah, he failed to turn them into lasting peace, and instead aimed to expand Israeli control over Gaza and the West Bank. He argued that this damaged Israel's relations with its Western allies and reduced the chances of normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Noting that the Iranian government is also responsible for the crisis by suppressing dissidents for decades and spending its resources on foreign conflicts, Friedman warned that the country's greatest future threat may not be military but environmental.
The author stated that all these wars will ultimately end through negotiation, because no side can fight forever. He added that the real question is not whether negotiations will happen, but when leaders will admit the failure of their military bets and seek a political exit.
Ridvan Sezer | Editor-in-Chief
