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The Iran strike reveals much about Trump's fear of Putin and abandonment of Ukraine... [1]

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Date: 2025-06-22

The subtext for last night’s bold and successful raid on Iranian nuclear sites is that diplomacy is for suckers.

Promising to end hostilities in both Ukraine and the Middle East, Donald Trump has chosen to abandon peaceful interventions and to light a match. The trail of lies told by the president has always led to an inherent distrust in what the president says. Offered a fortnight to make a ‘deal’, Iran saw what most have come to understand about our impulsive president. Deceit is a tactic; truth is for losers.

To be sure, the regime in Iran could not have been particularly surprised. Trump does not exude trust. He may, in fact, have surprised himself with this bold move more than the Iranians. Pushed and pulled by advisors within and without government, some competent, others not so much, the American people and the world can only hope that decisions made by the seat of this president's pants succeed. Impulsivity is no friend to diplomacy.

To be sure, no one should feel pity for the brutal regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as brutal a dictator as Donald Trump aspires to be. The issue for Israel and the West is a real one; Khamenei with nukes is an untenable reality. Iran has promised to annihilate the Jewish state and has waged an unrelenting war by proxy over the years. Iran has been a threat to the region ever since the Islamic Revolution orchestrated by the once-exiled Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Pahlavi regime in 1979. The theocratic republic with a constitution that provided for a democratically elected president who was overseen by a clerical ‘Supreme Leader’ has held its population hostage for nearly half a century.

The decision to build a nuclear capacity is at the core of the current crisis. Iranian leadership’s expressed threats to wipe Israel off the map have focused Israeli and American reaction to an “Arab bomb” specifically aimed at eliminating the Jewish state. No American president could accept that premise. The U.S. has, along with its western allies, consistently stood by Israel in the face of Iran’s threats. The rather obvious attempts to diminish the steps taken by previous administrations to limit Iran’s nuclear program, especially the attempts by both Obama and Biden, conveniently ignore the heightening of what had been a managed crisis. Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the multilateral agreement reached with Iran in 2015 led by the Obama administration has unleashed this chaos. The lack of trust and confidence in this administration’s actions both domestically and in foreign affairs is well-earned. In an article published at the end of Trump’s first term, Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, noted Trump’s propensity for creating crises so that he could solve them:

Not surprisingly, Trump’s ill-conceived “maximum pressure” campaign, which involves reimposing sanctions that were lifted when Iran met key JCPOA requirements, has done nothing to force changes in Iran’s regional behavior or push Iran into accepting new U.S. demands. Rather, the policy has sharply increased tensions in the Persian Gulf and decreased Iran’s incentives to continue compliance with the JCPOA. (emphasis mine) In response to U.S. moves to further tighten sanctions earlier this spring, Iran announced on May 8 that it would no longer adhere to JCPOA limits on stockpiling heavy water and low-enriched uranium. Iran also gave the other parties to the agreement (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union) 60 days to help it thwart U.S. sanctions on oil sales and banking transactions, or else it will take additional measures with more significant proliferation implications. — Daryl G, Kimball, “Trump’s Failing Iran Policy”

The syndrome is commonly known as the “hero syndrome” or “savior complex.” It is both undiagnosable and easily identified according to clinicians:

While the Hero Complex is mainly a psychological phenomenon, it is not a diagnosable disorder or a clinical term. However, the reported symptoms of the Hero Complex (such as an exaggerated sense of self-worth), is similar to a grandiose delusion, also known as delusions of grandeur. Patients of GD consider themselves famous, wealthy, and powerful, sometimes even referring to themselves in divine terms. — “Hero Syndrome in the Workplace” by Norys Insua

While the raid on Iranian nuclear sites may prove to be fortuitous, it comes at a cost. It is troubling that foreign policy with incredibly ominous repercussions should be placed in the hands of a delusional sociopath. Lighting fires that he then has to put out is a trait Trump has exhibited from childhood. As a young man, his missteps were ably rescued by his family's wealth. He learned the value of always having a formidable backup for his “bluff and run” tactics in business. The phoenix-like rising from the flames of disaster— the failures in both business and personal affairs— were always softened by an indulgent father and a fawning New York media. More recently, his backups have been the office of the presidency, a submissive (at times) Federal Court, and in the case of the raid on Iranian nuclear facilities, the U.S. military.

The problem with rescuers is usually the immense ego necessary for them to place others in the jeopardy they choose to create for them. In LA this past month, immigrants, legal and not, were placed in great jeopardy, as were peaceful protestors, by calling in the National Guard and the U.S. military to police the protests of the ICE overreach in California. In Iran, it was nice to defend Israel's right to exist while backed by the overwhelming forces of the U.S. military.

The attributes most associated with the hero-rescuers and saviors are rooted in narcissism. They create hostile environments to soothe their fragile psyches. Arrogance, delusions of grandeur, and a need to control those around them are defense mechanisms used to hide their enormous needs. As bullies, their victims are usually at a disadvantage: the poor, the disabled, the underserved.

The wonder is why Trump rightly chooses to defend Israel while denying Ukraine’s parallel right to exist? Bullies are generally emotional cowards who are adept at sensing when they can be out-bullied. Picking on victims holding weaker hands is a staple of an intimidator. The difference between Israel and Ukraine, between Netanyahu and Zelenskyy, is their respective oppressors.

I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were 'German dogs.' They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. — Molly Ivins, political commentator and author

Donald Trump has steadfastly refused to face his fear of Russia and its master bully, Vladimir Putin. Putin’s role in Trump’s universe is to serve as a backup to prevent exposing the deep-seated fear that lurks within, revealing his inner doubts. Putin, in effect, is Trump’s Achilles’ heel, his German Shepherd, his disinterred daddy.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/22/2329393/-The-Iran-strike-reveals-much-about-Trump-s-fear-of-Putin-and-abandonment-of-Ukraine?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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