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THE VIEW FROM HERE - Contrary to the deliberately false media reporting, Netanyahu never advised Trump that (1) there was an imminent attack by Iran, or (2) that February 2026 was the time for regime change. Netanyahu and American and Israeli intelligence told Trump that there was no imminent attack, and time was not ripe for regime change.
No Imminent Attack
Everyone including Netanyahu, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as both American and Israeli Intelligence establishments told Trump that there was no imminent Iranian attack on the USA. Trump’s claims that he knows more than his generals and experts; Trump has Stephen Miller to re-enforce Trump’s delusions so that Trump need not admit reality. Their relationship is not the standard folie à deux, but rather a folie induite, where Trump’s and Miller’s own delusions re-enforce and magnify each other. Other people’s rejection of their assertions does not bring reality in the folie induite. Instead, failure results in Trump and Miller becoming more adamant about their deterring and the imminent attack.
Regime Change
Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) agreed that eventual regime change is imperative. The question was its timing. The more pressing emergency was Iran’s reaching the Breakout Point where its conventional forces, especially its ballistic missiles, could provide enough protection that no country could physically stop Iran’s from pursuing its nuclear goal.
MBS knew Trump to be a weakling, i.e TACO Trump, and if the regime were not changed now, he feared Trump would claim to be good friends with the Ayatollahs and negotiate a deal which would leave murderous terrorists in charge. The Prince’s logic was impeccable. Due to the January 8-9, 2026 massacres, MBS reasoned the next campaign had to be a maximum-force effort to remove regime immediately. MBS claimed that the people were so incensed and infuriated by the massacre of tens of thousands of protesters, that they would rise up against the Ayatollahs. Netanyahu and Mossad intelligence was that the mass murders had decimated organized opposition so that there would be no uprising.
MBS feared that stopping Iran from reaching the Breakout Point would not prevent Ayatollahs and the IRGC from venting their fury via asymmetric proxy attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Immediate military action would be required to dislodge the fanatical regime before Trump could chicken out. Due to the influence of Stephen Miller, Trump ignored both Netanyahu and the Prince.
Any military strategy needs to be tailored to its goals. The objectives of stopping Iran from reaching the Breakout Point and disorganizing its leadership required different planning than attempting to bring down the regime ASAP. Because regime change would be an existential threat to the Ayatollahs and the IRGC, it would have to be vastly larger and probably entail US boots on the ground since the internal opposition was in disarray.
At this point, the racist Stephen Miller intervened so that Trump chose an option which both Bibi Netanyahu and Prince Mohammed bin Salman opposed. Because Stephen Miller and Pete Hegseth have a juvenile understanding of power, they see no need for strategic planning. Trump lost his focus and never planned a coherent strategy to carry out Netanyahu’s or The Prince’s goals. Trump’s and Hegseth’s foremost blunder was not securing the Strait of Hormuz. Unless the US could seize and hold The Strait of Hormuz, it could not dislodge the Ayatollahs and the IRGC. Trump, Miller, and Hegseth failed to adopt a strategy to stop Iran from reaching the Breakout point, i.e, a massive attack on Iran’s ballistic missile capacity. Instead, Iran saw the widespread attacks to be regime change, and not Israel’s typical tactic to disorganize top leadership. Miller and Hegseth,
however, had failed to develop a coherent military strategy for regime change. Instead, its weeks of bombing served to further entrench the IRGC. Thus, it was now or never time for Iran so that it deployed it full asymmetric defenses including closing the Strait of Hormuz, for which the US was completely unprepared.
The Psychotic Stephen Miller Guarantees Failure
Stephen Miller was the architect of the war’s disaster. Miller advised Trump that a massive strike, decoupled from traditional intelligence constraints, was the way to go. Miller’s belief is "governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time." (Apparently, Miller never heard of 1588 and the Spanish Armada.) Miller emphasizes that Trump has plenary authority, that is, absolute, unchecked power. Given Trump’s narcissistic grandiosity, Trump truly believes he should disregard his advisors and intelligence reports and rely on his intuition. Trump expects everyone to do exactly what he demands. Due to Miller’s influence, the February 28th attack was a dramatically long series of strikes, but not at the vital ballistic missiles, leaving Iran with a huge stockpile and in control of the Strait of Hormuz. Miller and Trump left untouched 2/3rds of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and ½ its drone fleet, plus non-military vessels in the Gulf were vulnerable Iran’s drones and flee of small attack speed boats.
If Netanyahu and MBS had jointly planned the military strategies, MSB would have agreed to postpone regime change, knowing that Bibi would not chicken out. After the predicted disaster, Trump is treating both Netanyahu and MSB in an abusive manner by publicly humiliating them with his bragging that the Saudis would "do what they are told" and Israel is “a very small partner" which must follow Trump’s directives. Miller and Trump think that the Saudis will hand over billions of dollars so that Iran can replenish Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis allowing Iran to stockpile more ballistic missiles to fire at Saudi Arabia. Yes, Trump and Miller are so deluded that they think Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States will finance their own destruction.
The Danger of Zero Foresight
Due to their folie induite, Miller and Trump now think that their succumbing to Iran will bring down oil prices and end inflation so that Trump will win the November 2026 elections. Iran still prefers the Democrats to regain power in the US Congress so as to neutralize Trump. Since the IRGC can outthink Miller and Trump twenty ways to Tuesday, they’ll find ways to undermine the GOP candidates. As long as Trump is psychologically wedded to the sadistic sociopath Stephen Miller and their joint delusions, disaster will follow disaster.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected])
