Amidst reporting of widespread Israeli dissatisfaction with the so-called truce in the war against Iran, it isn’t surprising that the Israelis have continued to attack targets in Lebanon. Netanyahu has not only announced that Lebanon isn’t included in the truce, but has escalated attacks there. This, predictably, has prompted the Iranians to close the Strait of Hormuz again, which, of course, will probably result in the resumption of hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran–an outcome apparently desired by both left-wing and right-wing elements in Israel. And of course, it will occasion further blustering and criminal threats (and potentially criminal actions) by the mad Orange King. (Note that the White House initially denied that the Strait is closed again, but this was probably gaslighting.)
That the “truce” apparently is crumbling is no surprise, but I have to admit that I didn’t expect it to collapse this quickly. That’s my bad.
As has been obvious for weeks (if not longer), Trump has lost control of the situation. This is attributable in part to the fact that he was snookered by the Israelis and by hawks in his own Administration and in part to the fact that he is cognitively and emotionally incapable of modulating his responses to frustration. Of course, to some extent the loss of control is actually what he wants: what he craves in life is chaos and attention, and he has discovered that inducing chaos is a surefire way to get attention.
We–the American people and the people of world–are trapped in a drama created by a demented sociopath. To mix metaphors, it’s not going to get better until someone takes the keys away.