Trump's Iran campaign echoes the post-9/11 'forever wars' - analysis

A quarter-century after 9/11, President Trump's war against Iran is drawing comparisons to the post-9/11 'forever wars' in Afghanistan and Iraq. Analysts warn the conflict, now six months old, risks becoming an open-ended war of attrition with no clear exit strategy, as domestic opposition grows ahead of the November midterm elections. The campaign, launched alongside Israel, relies mainly on air and naval power, and has weakened Trump's approval ratings while pushing US gasoline prices higher.

A quarter-century after the September 11, 2001 attacks that launched America's global 'war on terror,' President Donald Trump is entangled in an unpopular conflict of his own making against Iran, which analysts say risks becoming his version of a 'forever war.' The article, a Reuters analysis published in The Jerusalem Post, draws direct parallels between the current Iran campaign and the long, divisive conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unlike those wars, Trump's campaign was not precipitated by a national trauma but was deemed a war of choice, launched on February 28 alongside Israel. The US is relying mainly on air and naval power, mired in a battle of attrition with no obvious exit. Analysts warn the conflict is likely to drag on past the November midterm elections, threatening Republican control of Congress. The war has weakened Trump's approval ratings, pushed US gasoline prices higher due to Tehran's disruption of oil shipments, and undermined Washington's international standing. Critics argue Trump has failed to heed the lessons of the post-9/11 era, including the political downsides of long wars and the dangers of an entrenched foe. The article notes that most Americans opposed the war from the outset, and Trump has drawn criticism from within his own 'America First' movement.