Energy markets breathed a sigh of relief on Monday after President Donald Trump suggested he could declare victory over Iran at any time. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” he told CBS News. In a press conference later in the day he suggested several times that the war had achieved its basic objectives of rolling back Iran’s weapons programs and that it would be over “very soon.”
As I listened closely, however, I could hear Trump circling back to a rationale for staying in the fight long enough to ensure the United States doesn’t find itself back where we started in a few short years. Let me explain why I believe Trump is more likely than not to listen to his instinct to “finish the job,” as family members of recently fallen U.S. service personnel beseeched him this weekend, even if it means weeks (not days) of war still lay ahead.
