The following introductory post in this thread / topic is formatted to present
FOX Hugh Hewitt in bold, and
counterpoint without bold highlight.
Is the war with Iran "worth it?"
"It" is the loss of 13 American soldiers and scores more seriously wounded. If, as widely expected, combat operations resume those human costs will climb.
So too will gas prices and the prices of everything that depends upon oil.
Candidate Trump campaigned for re-election committing to lowering consumer prices, and not starting War in the Middle East.
To the casual observer it may seem a binary: keep his word, or break his word. There is a third option.
Trump could have avoided making a commitment either way.
Iran intends to obtain nuclear weapons by any means available, and the original ruler and his senior leadership — all dead now, as are their replacements, and many of the replacements of the replacements are dead too — were "crazy," "lunatics," and generally fanatics don’t make for good negotiating partners. President Trump has tried. He’s tried at least four times. But he is not former President Obama for whom any "deal" with Iran was a good deal, even the absurd, loophole riddled "JCPOA."
If you are correct Mr. Hewitt, Iran retains nuclear self-defense options not limited to D.I.Y. projects.
Nuclear proliferators such as A.Q. Kahn can and reportedly have expedited nuclear weapons proliferation.
But he [Trump] is not former President Obama for whom any "deal" with Iran was a good deal, even the absurd, loophole riddled "JCPOA."
Mr. Hewitt:
Any "deal"?
The "deal" you dismiss / deride as hastily & ignorantly as President Trump does, took Secretary of State Kerry more time to formulate than has elapsed in President Trump's second term.
Starting a War is easy Mr. Hewitt, as our OJT president has now learned. Negotiating an end to it evidently more difficult than Trump had fantasized, as we are already beyond Trump's own time commitment.
"... generally fanatics don’t make for good negotiating partners."
And in fact Mr. Hewitt, Trump has found the Iranians even less amenable negotiating partners since Trump unilaterally broke the successful JCPOA agreement with Iran, and then waged blood-spilling War against her, to the detriment not merely of the neighborhood, but to the planet.
President Trump has replaced Obama's diplomatic success with martial failure at unforgivable cost in $Billions and lives, and in so doing has plunged the global economy into crisis, and empowered our adversary Iran, now exercising a choke-hold over Earth's oil market. Obama did none of that sir.
And you Mr. Hewitt glamorize this abysmal disaster as "necessary". - piffle -
And your argument is so intrinsically feeble you misrepresent reality.
"Unlike Obama, Trump will not let those sorts of people have nukes." Hewett
Excuse me Mr. Hewett. President Obama did not "let those sorts of people have nukes." To the contrary sir, JCPOA was successful, operating to the satisfaction of its signatories until Trump sabotaged it.
You are a liar Mr. Hewitt. Your "former President Obama for whom any "deal" with Iran was a good deal" rhetoric makes that clear.
Your ostensibly reasoned argument is purely fantasy based.
The reality is, while you can dismiss Obama as an inept naïve buffoon, President Obama included in his JCPOA Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, & Iran.
For your criticism to seem plausible one would have to conclude each of these other nations comparably incompetent, AND
President Trump not merely superior to any of them, but to all of them combined.
That premise Mr. Hewitt does not rise above hallucinatory delusion.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
en.wikipedia.org
Text of the Hewitt spew available here: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-war-iran-right-war-right-time
FOX Hugh Hewitt in bold, and
counterpoint without bold highlight.
MORNING GLORY: The war against Iran is the right war at the right time
President Trump is making the only argument that truly matters
By Hugh Hewitt Fox News / Published May 19, 2026 5:00am EDTIs the war with Iran "worth it?"
"It" is the loss of 13 American soldiers and scores more seriously wounded. If, as widely expected, combat operations resume those human costs will climb.
So too will gas prices and the prices of everything that depends upon oil.
Candidate Trump campaigned for re-election committing to lowering consumer prices, and not starting War in the Middle East.
To the casual observer it may seem a binary: keep his word, or break his word. There is a third option.
Trump could have avoided making a commitment either way.
Iran intends to obtain nuclear weapons by any means available, and the original ruler and his senior leadership — all dead now, as are their replacements, and many of the replacements of the replacements are dead too — were "crazy," "lunatics," and generally fanatics don’t make for good negotiating partners. President Trump has tried. He’s tried at least four times. But he is not former President Obama for whom any "deal" with Iran was a good deal, even the absurd, loophole riddled "JCPOA."
If you are correct Mr. Hewitt, Iran retains nuclear self-defense options not limited to D.I.Y. projects.
Nuclear proliferators such as A.Q. Kahn can and reportedly have expedited nuclear weapons proliferation.
But he [Trump] is not former President Obama for whom any "deal" with Iran was a good deal, even the absurd, loophole riddled "JCPOA."
Mr. Hewitt:
Any "deal"?
The "deal" you dismiss / deride as hastily & ignorantly as President Trump does, took Secretary of State Kerry more time to formulate than has elapsed in President Trump's second term.
Starting a War is easy Mr. Hewitt, as our OJT president has now learned. Negotiating an end to it evidently more difficult than Trump had fantasized, as we are already beyond Trump's own time commitment.
"... generally fanatics don’t make for good negotiating partners."
And in fact Mr. Hewitt, Trump has found the Iranians even less amenable negotiating partners since Trump unilaterally broke the successful JCPOA agreement with Iran, and then waged blood-spilling War against her, to the detriment not merely of the neighborhood, but to the planet.
President Trump has replaced Obama's diplomatic success with martial failure at unforgivable cost in $Billions and lives, and in so doing has plunged the global economy into crisis, and empowered our adversary Iran, now exercising a choke-hold over Earth's oil market. Obama did none of that sir.
And you Mr. Hewitt glamorize this abysmal disaster as "necessary". - piffle -
And your argument is so intrinsically feeble you misrepresent reality.
"Unlike Obama, Trump will not let those sorts of people have nukes." Hewett
Excuse me Mr. Hewett. President Obama did not "let those sorts of people have nukes." To the contrary sir, JCPOA was successful, operating to the satisfaction of its signatories until Trump sabotaged it.
You are a liar Mr. Hewitt. Your "former President Obama for whom any "deal" with Iran was a good deal" rhetoric makes that clear.
Your ostensibly reasoned argument is purely fantasy based.
The reality is, while you can dismiss Obama as an inept naïve buffoon, President Obama included in his JCPOA Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, & Iran.
For your criticism to seem plausible one would have to conclude each of these other nations comparably incompetent, AND
President Trump not merely superior to any of them, but to all of them combined.
That premise Mr. Hewitt does not rise above hallucinatory delusion.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
Iran nuclear deal - Wikipedia
Text of the Hewitt spew available here: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-war-iran-right-war-right-time