IRAN/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “President Donald Trump has long talked a big game when it comes to standing up to U.S. adversaries. He’s threatened ‘fire and fury’ against North Korea, hinted at military action in Venezuela and warned that he could bring about the ‘official end of Iran.’ But, when faced with evidence of nefarious activities by such countries and pushed by hawkish advisers to mount a military response, Trump keeps stepping back from the ledge. The president’s latest move, canceling an imminent U.S. military strike against Iran after Tehran shot down a U.S. drone, risks creating a ‘Boy who cried ‘wolf!’’ scenario: Trump’s future threats may not be taken seriously and adversaries could dangerously miscalculate how he will react, former U.S. officials and analysts across the political spectrum warned…Trump came to the White House 2½ years ago from the bombastic world of New York real estate and the illusionist stage of reality TV. But his apparent hopes that rhetoric and threats of military action would bully America’s adversaries into caving to his demands have yet to produce the desired results, despite Trump’s claims to the contrary.”
–Nahal Toosi, “Trump smothers his own military threats,” Politico, June 21, 2019 4:08 pm