What War?

Susan Estrich on Jun 18, 2026

The president wants us to put the war in the "rear view window."

Who can blame him? Thirteen American servicemen and women have given their lives. You and I, the taxpayers, have spent upwards of $29 billion. But did we "win"? Win what? Is it a more dangerous world, or a safer one, because of this war? Are we getting any more out of this deal than the one Obama got -- and Trump tossed away?

Don't ask President Donald Trump that question. Speaking to reporters after the G-7 meeting, Trump went on an expletive-filled rant about how he was getting a better deal than former President Barack Obama. Claiming that Obama had given Iran $1.7 billion in cash (money that was owed to Iran for military equipment they bought but was never delivered, he told reporters, "And you know what the Iranians did? They laughed at Obama, and they said, 'He's a stupid son of a bitch.'" This is how the president speaks for the record about his more popular predecessor.

Did Obama get a better deal? Did Trump get anything from his war or did Iran "win" with the coming $300 billion investment fund supposedly heading its way? (According to JD Vance, on Monday, which Trump was walking back on Wednesday. We shall see.)

In fact, Trump doesn't have any deal yet. The hardest issues, dealing with the future of Iran's nuclear program, all got left to the 60-day negotiating period that is supposed to begin on Friday.

What Trump has is a 60-day ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which he is already (as of Wednesday) threatening to violate, or so it seems, telling reporters that if he is unhappy with how the terms are implemented, it's back to the bombing. "If I don't like it, if they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head." Nonetheless, Trump insisted: "It's a very strong deal. Nobody knows what it is, but it's very strong. Most people seem to be very happy. Who's really happy is the market." He means the stock market, not the gasoline market, which still has a long way to go before it recovers.

If most people are happy with the deal, as Trump insists, even if they don't know what's in it, it is at least in part because most people have no idea what we're accomplishing in this new war that Trump vowed not to pursue. This administration, with its mixed message and its distorted focus on somehow "beating" Obama's deal underscores the fact that Iran became a more dangerous country because first-Term Trump jettisoned the Obama deal.

This is very much Trump's war to lose. Some days, he wants to sound like it's already over, like he's solved another one, now he can move on to Ukraine. Thirteen lives lost; it could have been so much worse. Of course, there was the girls' school we bombed by mistake, and who knows what else. There have been protestors, encouraged by us and executed by the regime. This is a brutal regime we are dealing with. Are they scared of us, or playing our president like a piccolo? Sometimes it's hard to know. But a cease-fire in search of a resolution is at least better than the alternative.

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To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.