It looks like the ever-entertaining drama between President Trump and NATO has taken another twist. Hot on the heels of President Trump’s scathing critique of NATO as a “paper tiger” without U.S. muscle flexing, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutah is now doing what he can to reassure the world they’re not sleeping on the job. With Iran upping the ante in the Strait of Hormuz, NATO, along with a coalition of countries from Japan to the UAE, is feverishly working to keep those crucial waters open. It seems they’ve got military planners huddled around the globe, brainstorming ways to free up the blockade. Let’s just hope they remember to update their GPS to “global defense initiative” mode when they get there.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, where tensions are anything but low, missile barges keep rolling in from Iran with unrelenting consistency. It’s like they’ve got a never-ending fireworks display going on, much to the dismay of the locals. Although Israeli defenses take out some of these missiles, many still burst into smaller explosives, causing mayhem on the ground. Thankfully, injuries have been relatively minor, but the looming threat remains. Especially concerning is that missiles landed dangerously close to Israel’s nuclear research facility. NATO’s Secretary General seems to imply that taking out Iran’s capacity for these attacks, be it nuclear or missile, is absolutely necessary. It’s an existential threat to more than just Israel, after all.
President Trump, in his typical unabashed style, has made it pretty clear that Iran’s long reign as a “bad actor” is about to meet its match. The administration doesn’t just seem content with saber-rattling; they are brandishing a CliffsNotes version of “Total Decimation for Dummies” instead. No surprise that Democrats are clutching their pearls at the prospect of a $200 billion price tag to fund this showdown with Iran. They’re already signaling they’d rather not spend another dime, except probably on nail-biting sessions while watching from the sidelines.
On the home front, Republican Senator Jim Banks is trying to wrangle the troops on Capitol Hill around two big bills—the Department of Homeland Security funding and the Save America Act. But with Democrats seemingly indifferent to the issues at hand, perhaps too busy polishing their “Defund ICE” trophies, things are moving slower than molasses in January. Banks is right about one thing, though: if you’re stuck in an endless airport line, you can thank those very Democrats. They’ve shut down more progress than a kid at a candy-free buffet.
As for the Save America Act, while many Americans support this patriotic-sounding legislation, some Republican senators are doing their best to drown it with indecision. The bill, which includes provisions on voter ID and various other matters, seems like a common-sense solution. Yet, a few GOP holdouts may need a gentle nudge—and perhaps a little reminder about what their voters want. The act might be full of things that sound a lot like elementary logic, but in the topsy-turvy world of politics, sometimes even the simple requires a feat of herculean effort to pass. All we can do now is wait and see if these senators will get their act together or if they prefer to milk the PR cow until it’s bone-dry.
