Trump’s Strategic Misfires: The President Who Promised Peace and Delivered War

“We sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam,

Now we’re wondering what they were dying for.”

— Bruce Springsteen, “Youngstown”

This is the second entry in a series on Trump’s strategic missteps. The first, “A Redistricting Plan Unravels,” is linked here.

Though it ended more than fifty years ago, the Vietnam War continues to cast a shadow over the way the United States approaches military entanglements. Conscious of the quagmire that that conflict became, Americans are wary of entering “forever wars,” especially those launched without clear or achievable goals.

From 1975, Presidents stayed clear of long-term, open-ended conflicts. Even major events like our embassy staff in Iran being taken hostage were not enough to draw them into armed conflict without a clear exit strategy and broad public support. That all changed on September 11, 2001. Having suffered the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, George W. Bush committed the United States to two major wars.

Our invasion of Afghanistan was the easiest to justify, given that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were planned from within its borders. Still, the Soviet Union’s own ten-year quagmire in the country should have given us pause. A clear exit strategy should have been established before the first shot was fired. Instead, we entered the conflict with force but without a defined sense of what victory would ultimately mean.

Iraq was even less justifiable. Not only did this country have nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, but Iraq’s leaders were ideological religious opponents of those who carried out the attacks. The reason given for the attacks, that the country had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), was unfounded and ultimately disproven. Adding to the concern were warnings that opening a second, unrelated front in the war on terror would divert attention and resources from achieving success in Afghanistan.

The wars continued through both of Bush’s terms, though he negotiated a withdrawal timetable for U.S. forces in Iraq in 2008. Implementing that agreement would fall to his successor, Barack Obama, but would not be completed until 2011. However, Afghanistan continued to drag on, with troops still in harm’s way when Obama left office after two terms.

“Why are we continuing to train these Afghanis who then shoot our soldiers in the back? Afghanistan is a complete waste. Time to come home!”

— Donald Trump, August 21, 2012

Even before he descended his golden escalator into presidential politics, Trump had been a long-time critic of the continuing war in Afghanistan. As he campaigned to succeed Obama, the reality-television star tapped into the public’s frustration with what had become America’s longest-lasting armed conflict and positioned himself as the candidate who would finally bring the troops home.

Except he didn’t.

The war in Afghanistan continued throughout Trump’s entire first term, though he did negotiate a withdrawal agreement that he left for Biden to carry out. When the agreement culminated in a chaotic and deadly exit, Trump placed the blame entirely on his successor, taking no responsibility for the shortcomings of the deal he had signed.

In addition to the continuing war in Afghanistan, Trump oversaw thousands of military actions during his first term. He ignored this record during the 2024 campaign as he crafted an alternate reality in which he alone could bring peace to the world, even claiming he would end the Russian‑Ukrainian war within 24 hours.

In his words, electing Kamala Harris was a "gamble with the lives of millions," and she would "get us into World War III, guaranteed."

After winning the election on a promise of peace, Trump quickly authorized more military actions in his first year back in office than Biden had during his entire term. He has already ordered strikes across more countries than any other recent president, a stark contrast to the image he projected on the campaign trail.

Trump’s newest focus is Iran. Although he claimed last year’s strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, his administration now insists that additional attacks are needed to stop the country from becoming a nuclear power.

Without explicit congressional approval, Trump has deployed the military, but has not quickly accomplished his objectives. The conflict threatens to become another prolonged entanglement. The consequences extend beyond the conflict itself, as Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global oil markets. Foreign‑policy experts warn that the conflict is also further eroding America’s credibility and influence abroad.

Beyond making the world more dangerous, Trump’s war may also carry political consequences for his party. The Trump campaign had falsely framed the economy as being in free fall and argued that only he could save it. But with gas prices rising and inflation again a threat, the decision to launch another long, open‑ended conflict risks undermining Republican candidates as they head into the November elections.

The war also highlights a major failure of Trump's first term. Having established his political career on the foundation of the birther movement, Trump entered office with a mission of overturning everything his predecessor had accomplished. If the presidency were a DC comic, Trump would be Lex Luthor to Obama’s Superman, minus the genius and the earned wealth that define the fictional supervillain.

Obama had negotiated an agreement with Iran that had significantly restricted Iran’s nuclear program. Despite verification that Iran complied with their obligations, Trump withdrew from the agreement, insisting that he could negotiate something better. The self-declared master of the Art of the Deal came up empty, and, freed from the limits Obama had negotiated, Iran reinvigorated its nuclear program.

A hallmark of Trump’s second term has been the limited oversight exercised by the other coequal branches of government. His open‑ended war may prove different. With 13 service members killed and the price tag already exceeding $25 billion, questions about how the conflict began are not going away. Trump used America’s weariness with war to win the presidency. Ignoring those concerns now may carry political consequences he cannot easily dismiss.