President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, and it was rightfully treated as a big deal. But as with breaking news of any size and scope, it’s best to pause before determining the political fallout. While most of the subsequent conversation revolves around potential future […] Read more »
Trump’s big risk on Iran showdown
President Donald Trump has insisted that he seeks peace — not war — with Iran. His decision to assassinate Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Quds Forces, may have taken that choice out of his hands and given it to Tehran. It has, at the very least, allowed Iran to […] Read more »
This recent poll shows how Americans think about the war in Afghanistan
The Washington Post’s recently published Afghanistan Papers project revealed a purposeful effort, by both Democratic and Republican administrations, to mislead the American public on the harsh realities of the war in Afghanistan. This fall, we asked a nationally representative sample of Americans, as part of the University of Maryland Critical […] Read more »
Attacking Iran will not help Trump win reelection. Here’s why.
In the 1997 movie “Wag the Dog,” a political adviser manufactures a war to help a scandal-besieged president win reelection. This parallel came to many minds after President Trump ordered airstrikes that killed Iran’s Quds Force commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. … The “rally around the flag” effect happens when […] Read more »
What Americans really think about US policy toward Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan
The following is based on new findings from two consecutive University of Maryland Critical Issues Polls, conducted September 3-20, and October 4-10. … From the day President Trump announced his decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, which we started measuring on October 7, support for his move was low, […] Read more »
U.S. military confrontation with Iran would be unpopular. Here’s why.
Earlier this summer, after Iran downed an unmanned U.S. military aircraft, President Trump said he had approved — then put a stop to — a U.S. missile strike on Iran. Polling showed most Americans supported aborting the mission. … This unpopularity of intervening in Iran fits with larger public opinion […] Read more »