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Seven Myths About the Iran War

JL;DR SUMMARY Michael Doran challenges the prevailing narratives around Trump's foreign policy decisions on Iran, arguing against seven key myths propagated by both progressives and isolationists. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Middle EastBenjamin NetanyahuIranDonald TrumpU.S. Israel RelationsForeign PolicyMilitary StrategyIranian Nuclear ProgramMedia CriticismIdeological Bias

Places mentioned

Iran
"World War III hasnt erupted. The global economy hasnt collapsed. Instead, the Iranian leadership is dead or decapitated, its nuclear weapons program is buried beneath mountains of rubble, and most of its navy lies at the bottom of the sea."
Israel
"Theyre both alleged crooks. They are terrible, terrible people doing terrible things to Americas standing in the world and Israels standing in the world."
Saudi Arabia
"Israel still exists. So do Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, along with their oil reserves."
United Arab Emirates
"Israel still exists. So do Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, along with their oil reserves."
Kuwait
"Israel still exists. So do Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, along with their oil reserves."
Washington, D.C., Washington DC, United States
"Trump is a megalomaniacor, as Jon Stewart and former U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan recently agreed on The Daily Show, perhaps addicted to cocaine."
Islamabad, Pakistan
"Onlookers were then baffled when the United States walked away from talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, and took steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, to the strategic detriment of China and the benefit of U.S. energy producers."
Oman
"With the help of Omani mediators in Geneva, Tehran offered concessions that went a long way towards resolving the nuclear issue."
China
"Onlookers were then baffled when the United States walked away from talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, and took steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, to the strategic detriment of China and the benefit of U.S. energy producers."
Tehran, Iran
"Yet while Trump has repeatedly defied the Beltway consensus on Iran and its allies over the past year and a half, none of the dire consequences that influential commentators predicted have come to pass."
United States
"Instead, the Iranian leadership is dead or decapitated, its nuclear weapons program is buried beneath mountains of rubble, and most of its navy lies at the bottom of the sea."
Pakistan
"Onlookers were then baffled when the United States walked away from talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, and took steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, to the strategic detriment of China and the benefit of U.S. energy producers."
Bangkok, Thailand
"The clearest illustration of this dynamic came in January 2024, when Sullivan flew to Bangkok to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and asked Beijing to use its substantial leverage with Iran to restrain the Houthis."

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Cairo Item ID 80322
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Retrieved 2026-04-19 05:31:04 UTC
Curated 2026-04-19 08:30:23 UTC