Trump directed staff to announce 2-week window to conceal Iran attack plans, sources say
President Donald Trump had been leaning heavily toward taking US military action in Iran for several days when he issued a directive to his senior aides: Tell the press he would make a decision on whether to act within two weeks, as a way to obscure his true thinking.
The president had been frustrated by coverage that suggested he had made a final decision on striking Iranian nuclear sites and he thought a two-week timeline could throw off the Iranians and conceal his plans, according to several sources familiar with what happened.
Trump made the call to issue the statement Thursday as he was set to have lunch with his former adviser Steve Bannon, who had been publicly skeptical of US involvement. Shortly after, his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, walked into the White House briefing room and followed the president’s orders, signaling to the world that Trump’s mind wasn’t made up yet.
While the final call came Saturday as bombers were already in the air, those around Trump believed his mind had been largely made up for days regarding taking action in Iran. Trump had been briefed on attack plans already and was meeting with his senior national security aides in person on a daily basis, in addition to having multiple phone calls throughout the day.
All that achieved was sinking European negotiations in Geneva. Iran already moved everything valuable out of the way.
Trump didn't achieve anything, unless sinking NPT and putting US troops (and civilians) in danger was the goal.
Meantime, there are new details about the US operation. US media reporting that the president was in control, not the Pentagon, with a US official saying that this strike was not a pentagon operation. It was a Donald Trump operation. He chose the plans. He chose the day.
Now, given there has been the strike by the United States, there is now concern about retaliation by Iran, specifically given the fact that there are 40,000 troops based in the region, and there are also concerns about attacks here in the US, perhaps on infrastructure, like cyber attacks on the banking system or even on energy grids.
That is why many on Capitol Hill are now demanding an intelligence briefing, something they say should have happened prior to the president taking action.
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