By Philip Yeung
After many sleepless nights and white-knuckle anxiety, Trump has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
Israel is the X factor in this war. Both Iran and the US have failed to take Israel sufficiently into the equation. Netanyahu needs war to stay in power. Once out, he faces corruption charges that will end or cripple his political career.
Consequently, this monster will do whatever it takes to survive. He knows he can't stop Trump from reaching a ceasefire agreement with Iran, as the American president's domestic situation grows desperate.
His answer is to start another war on another front. In a war of proxies, Israel has cunningly picked Lebanon, slaughtering innocent civilians by the hundreds and injuring thousands. Where Israel goes, the killings and land-grabbing will follow.
Just when the world is beginning to heave a sigh of relief, Israel has revved up its killing machine again, forcing Iran to come to the defense of its Hezbollah allies, thereby threatening to scuttle the ceasefire.
Not surprisingly, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut. The next move is up to Trump.
Iran cries foul, and so does the US. The fragile ceasefire may not last, with Netanyahu driving a wedge between them.
Israel has a history of stooping to murky measures to achieve its military objectives---humanitarian disasters be damned. It also has a notorious record of not honoring ceasefires. It will kill its way to victory, genocidally, if necessary, whether in Gaza or Lebanon.
Trump's stupidity has allowed Israel to drag it into a costly and unjust war. Netanyahu is playing Trump like a fiddle. The war serves Netanyahu's purpose, which may overlap with Trump's need for distraction from the widening scandal of the Epstein files.
But America is paying for the collateral damage for this unpopular war, bankrupting its credibility, crippling its economy, and sacrificing American lives.
Trump's political fortunes are heading south, with his popularity plummeting as the midterms approach. A lot is riding on the outcome of this conflict; the longer it drags on, the higher the costs.
Democrats are pushing to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove a mentally incapacitated president.
Trump looks powerless to stop Israel from bombing Lebanon or distancing himself from the killing. The Israeli leader has Trump over a barrel.
Trump's desperation reveals itself when he issues a stern warning to any country supplying weapons to Iran that doing so will incur 50% punitive tariffs. With a lack of trust, both sides may take advantage of this brief break to restock military supplies against future hostilities.
The ceasefire already looks like an Iranian victory, first with its people forming a human chain to protect their bridges and power plants, and now with the ceasefire, taking to the streets to celebrate bringing America to the negotiating table, if not to its knees.
Trump's apocalyptic warning to wipe out Iranian civilization and 90 million civilians has drawn a rare rebuke from the Pope for potential war crimes.
Trump's lackeys have foolishly summoned the Pope's representative in Washington, a senior cardinal, for a dressing down. With bilateral relations souring, the Pope has abruptly cancelled his planned visit to the US.
Trump is digging his own grave. Yes, it is true that the Pope doesn't have an army or aircraft carriers. But he is the spiritual leader to 1.422 billion Catholics worldwide.
In America alone, there are 70 to 85 million Catholics, over 40% of whom are Hispanics from Latin America. J.D. Vance, the US Vice President is himself a Catholic, but he sidestepped the questions when friction with the Vatican came up.
The Catholic vote alone may be enough to turf him out of his presidency.
Hispanic Catholics are ready to serve him his favorite Mexican dish, Taco, the soft crunchy tortilla. Except for Trump, it is also his toxic political acronym, as TACO stands for "Trump always chickens out."
In this game of chicken, Trump is known as the first to blink, and chicken out.
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