BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE WEDNESDAY MARCH 4, 2026) — In 1973, with the Vietnam War reaching Act IV given the Paris Peace Accords and another two years left until the disastrous exit from Saigon (remember those helicopters being thrown overboard?), Congress passed the War Powers Act in a legislative attempt to wrestle control from the Oval Office over the power to launch war.

The Act has proven toothless, with the rise of an imperial presidency, Congressional infighting, and the parsing of the word “war.” The most recent example is President Donald Trump’s invasion of Iran. It’s not a “war.” It’s a “limited military operation” begun for “national security purposes.”

Right.

Sounds like Vladimir Putin’s excuse for his Ukraine jaunt, now in its fifth year. Of course, everything being politicized today, the Other Side of the Aisle isn’t buying it, claiming that Trump Iran’s nuclear threat was “exaggerated” to supply the pretext for military intervention. More troubling to THE PLANET is something Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. He told the press that U.S. intelligence learned that Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu was about to attack Iran. Rubio said this would have caused retaliation on U.S. interests, and that’s why America acted in a preemptive way. All well and good, but why allow Israel to yank America’s foreign policy chain?

Which is it?

There’s no question about the evidence.  Iran has been the global agent for funding terrorism (Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, The Taliban. Can nothing short of the total destruction of Iran’s militant Muslim theocracy affect global terror?

One can select the political framing for this modern-art canvas: The right will say that Trump gave Iran plenty of opportunity to reach a negotiated settlement. The left counters that Trump’s negotiations were simply a cover for a predetermined invasion. Right: Trump is giving Iranians a chance to “take back their nation.”  Left: Trump has broken international law by assassinating the head of a sovereign nation. Right: This is about freedom. Left: This is about oil.

Is it war? Yes. Has regional stability worsened. Yes. Has the world become safer? No. As of press time, six U.S. soldiers have been killed. The State Department has urged Americans in the Middle East to leave.

So where does all this leave us?

• Trump says the war — yes, let’s call it that — will continue for “several weeks,” four or five, but says he’s ready “to go far longer than that,” leading THE PLANET to wonder about the exit plan. Is there one, and if so, what?
• We must assume U.S. intelligence has an adequate if not accurate assessment of Iran’s military capacity to fight back, and that won’t be shared with the public.
• Rubio said “The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military. The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.” Ground troops?
• This move will have dramatic long-term consequences. That’s certain, but what will they be for America and the world? Good or bad? Up or down?
• The nuclear capabilities of Iran have been unquestionably hampered, but what of their conventional military abilities? Already, many Middle East countries have come under fire from the mullahs, including the once safe-haven of Dubai.
• How long will nuclear-armed China, Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea be patient and uninvolved?
• You’ve heard the cliche “the fog of war?” We got a huge taste when our ally, Kuwait, mistakenly shot down three F-15E Strike Eagles. All six pilots ejected and are hospitalized in stable condition.
• In Tehran, Iran’s top security official made it clear on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”
• World markets have gone jittery, especially after Iran aircraft began attacking the oil refinery stations in the Persian Gulf and natural-gas production facilities in Qatar. European natural gas prices shot up 40% overnight. In the Hormuz Straight, through which passes 20% of the world’s oil, several ships came under attack from bordering Iran. Crude prices rose 6%. Trump said he may use the Navy to escort commercial ships through the Straight, with America picking up the insurance.

Is America’s main aim “nation building” in Iran? No says Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth: “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.”

Perhaps so, but since Bush Lite declared the War on Terror 23 years ago, the United States has spent countless trillions in the Middle East and many lives.

What have we gained in all that time, except that the jinn has been let out of the bottle.

We invite your comments.

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“The ‘War on Terror’ is a war that can’t be one nor can it be won” — Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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