Author: Buck Banks

In the early hours of Saturday, Feb. 28, President Donald Trump spoke, not in Washington, but at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, to explain why the United States was bombing Iran. His statement was unusually long, at 1,055 words, but that is to be expected, given the need to make a compelling case where there wasn’t one. However, it was the usual sloppy speechwriting to which we have become accustomed.

I read the thing and pulled the key sentence from each of its 11 paragraphs. One would think that would be an excellent way to distill the essential reasoning behind the rush to war. But apparently, there was none — essential reasoning, that is.

The speech has vaguely three sections: a litany of all the bad stuff Iran and its proxies have done over the past 47 years; Iran can’t be allowed to have nuclear weapons; grateful Iranians should rise up and take over their country now that we’ve flattened its military infrastructure and hopefully killed its religious leadership.

It’s clear from its grammatical accuracy, proper punctuation and consistent capitalization that Trump didn’t write the piece. Here are the nuggets, paragraph by paragraph, in 256 words:

1. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.
2. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted “Death to America” and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries.
3. The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels and international shipping lines.
4. From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts.
5. It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon.
6. They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore.
7. For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.
8. This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States armed forces.
9. Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.
10. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.
11. May God bless America’s armed forces, America and you all. (condensed)

You can watch the video here.