Trump is utterly disappointed with US allies for not stepping up to help him in the ongoing war with Iran. He is particularly disappointed with the UK; almost annoyed. His apparent assumption that when he tells the allies to do something they should neither question nor hesitate was evident when he spoke to his cabinet yesterday at the White House Cabinet Room.
He took time to explain how badly he felt about those NATO members, declaring that none of them is a match for the USA. Issuing what was clearly a threat, he proceeded to term his earlier request for them to help out as merely a test. He said that they didn’t need to assist in the war, but that, nonetheless, the US will always remember that they failed it.
As the NATO annual report briefing in Brussels was going on yesterday, Trump was busy in Washington, expressing his disappointment with the organization. He even referred to NATO as an organization of cowards.
Trump Mad at the UK
Singling out the UK, Trump said that three weeks have passed since the US’ closest ally promised to deliver a number of great aircraft for the US to use. Then he said in a mocking tone that they probably want to send them after the war ends. He also sarcastically said that those UK aircraft are actually toys.
During the Cabinet meeting, the US President told the members that the name “Operation Epic Fury” is suitable for the war operation in Iran, because the US is absolutely “obliterating” Iran. He reported that the superior US capability was evident in the Venezuela operation, when President Nicolas Maduro was captured. At that point, Pete Hegseth’s mouth twitched.
Trump, however, noted that the Venezuela show of force was only a fraction of what can be seen now in Iran. As a consequence, he explained, the US had managed to wipe out the entire Iranian navy and the entire Iranian air force. At that point, Marco Rubio, who flanked the president on one side and Hegseth on the other, instinctively but momentarily scratched his head.
The US President continued to extol US performance in the ongoing war, adding that the US had already destroyed over 90% of the Iranian missile launchers.
Everyone at the meeting was attentive. Fortunately, most of them have a good idea of what the reality is on the ground. For example, the loss in terms of US military bases destroyed in the Gulf is estimated at $800 million, even as the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank points out that US war losses have been underreported.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to fight as effectively as before, only more viciously. Two days ago, it launched a Shahed drone that struck a fuel storage facility at the busy Kuwait International Airport. Hours later, debris from an intercepted Iranian missile in Abu Dhabi killed two people.