Letter to the editor: Netanyahu says, "Jump!" Trump asks, "How high?"

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 03.12.26

Trump’s Iran war has killed six U.S. soldiers. Americans deserve to know why.

Trump claimed Iran posed a nuclear threat, despite boasting that he “completely and totally obliterated” its nuclear program last year. And, Secretary of State Rubio said, “They’re not enriching right now.” 

Trump said he wanted “freedom” for Iran. He called regime change “the best thing that could happen,” despite promising never to engage in “nation-building and regime change.”

Then we were told that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu got Trump to attack Iran. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said, “Israel faced an existential risk and was prepared to strike Iran alone. If that happened, Iran was very likely to target our troops.”

Rubio explained: “We knew there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) confirmed that “Israel was determined to act with or without us,” leaving Trump no choice but to join Israel in “a coordinated response.”

The Council on Foreign Relations reports that Israel has received $300 billion (adjusted for inflation) in U.S. economic and military assistance — roughly 20 percent of its defense budget. The Congressional Research Service says, “Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II.” Trump failed to use that leverage to stop Netanyahu.

The New York Times called Trump’s failure “a victory for Netanyahu,” who bragged that “Trump, and the US military” would help him do “what I have yearned to do for 40 years: smite the terror regime hip and thigh.” 

Trump let Netanyahu drag America into war in a humiliating case of the tail wagging the dog. Netanyahu’s boast referenced Judges 15:8, where Samson smote the Philistines “hip and thigh with a great slaughter.” We know how badly that ended for Samson.

Eileen Farrell 

Sunset Beach