Trump’s Thinking in Calling Off Iran Attack

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/opinion/letters/trump-iran-attack.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Trump Confirms Aborting Plan for Airstrikes on Iran” (front page, June 22):

Those who feel the need to compliment President Trump on his last-minute decision to call back an airstrike on targets within Iran in response to that country’s downing of an American drone would do well to reread the comment of a person described as “familiar with” Mr. Trump’s thinking. That person said Mr. Trump “liked the ‘command’ of approving the strike, but also the decisiveness of calling it off.”

Of course he knew that roughly 150 people would be killed. Even if he hadn’t asked about casualties, wouldn’t we expect that his advisers would offer that information? I believe that when he ordered the strike, he had already planned to call it off at the last minute because both ordering it and stopping it appealed to his gargantuan ego, and he felt it would appeal to his supporters.

Victoria KellyWest Caldwell, N.J.

To the Editor:

To say that I am not a fan of President Trump nor of the Fox News host Tucker Carlson is the understatement of the year. But hurrah to Mr. Carlson for urging the president not to order a military action in retaliation for Iran’s shooting down one of our unmanned drones, which could have started another devouring, pointless Middle East war.

And to those critics who carp that Mr. Trump ignored the advice of his generals and military advisers in favor of the advice of a mere TV personality, I say I don’t care if he listened to Santa Claus. Mr. Trump showed strength and character by ignoring the hawks in his administration — something I wish Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush had done — and doing the right thing.

So let’s give him loud and clear credit for it. And hope he applies some of the same thinking, character and sensibility to other domestic and foreign policy decisions he makes during the rest of his term in the White House.

Sanford EvansCoral Gables, Fla.

To the Editor:

Re “Input From All Over, Going by Instinct” (front page, June 22):

When a real crisis presents itself, a president will often find himself with one set of advisers telling him to do one thing and another set saying do the opposite. Both will have strong and persuasive arguments. The president must decide. Ideally his decision will be informed by a lifetime of experience, knowledge of history, foreign travel and deep reservoirs of judgment and common sense.

Our current president has none of these resources to draw upon. Instead, as your reporters describe, he relies on his gut and on advice from a television news host. God help us.

David BlakeSanta Rosa, Calif.

To the Editor:

President Trump has averted a military strike against Iran! Once again, he has saved us from a crisis largely of his own making. Add it to a list that includes the government shutdown, the border crisis and an escalated threat from North Korea. In every case, the president seems to exacerbate a problem with his unrestrained rhetoric or action, and then portrays himself as a hero when the worst doesn’t happen.

In the mental health world, when a caregiver repeatedly makes a child or other vulnerable person sick and then rushes to the hospital for lifesaving care, they call that “Munchausen syndrome by proxy.” It is thought that a primary motivation for the behavior is to get attention and portray the caregiver in a positive light. Unfortunately, the child may suffer lasting damage.

So far, damage has been done to our standing, alliances and credibility around the world. Whether that damage can be reversed, or whether something worse will happen, remains to be seen.

Susan MeyerStudio City, Calif.

To the Editor:

President Trump has been congratulated by some for rescinding a decision to retaliate against Iran for its downing of an American drone. We should all be glad that he changed his mind, but ought he be congratulated for this? If someone entered your house and poured gasoline on the floor, but then refrained from lighting a match, should we thank him for being so restrained?

David P. BarashRedmond, Wash.

To the Editor:

Before the killing of 150 innocent Iranians in retaliation for the downing of a drone, President Trump said he “thought about it for a second” and decided he should not. Think about that for a second.

William FranklinMission Hills, Calif.