LIAR, LIAR, MIDDLE EAST ON FIRE

I SUPPOSE WE SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISED that someone who continues to lie about the 2020 election would persist in falsehoods. However, this latest horror taking place in the Middle East once again emphasizes the mendacity of Donald J. Trump. In particular, several recent news items bring this to the fore; here are tidbits gleaned from them.

A Summary of Lies. Daniel Dale cites recent falsehoods in “Fact Check: Trump’s Barrage of False or Unproven Claims About the Iran War,” CNN, March 17, 2026.

Watch Trump’s Nose Grow. Dale recounts, “Trump claimed Monday that Iran wasn’t ‘supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East.’ He said, ‘So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.’ ”

I am reminded of Captain Renault’s acquiescence to Nazi Major Strasser in Casablanca.    

Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Monday, March 16, 2026. Image by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP.

Dale continues, “Asked later Monday whether he was ‘surprised that nobody briefed you ahead of time that that might be their retaliation,’ Trump said, ‘Nobody, nobody, no, no, no. No, the greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit—they were—I wouldn’t say friendly countries, they were like neutral. They lived with them for years.’ ” 

Image by Flavio Pessoa Satanna for The Washington Post.

Reality Check. Dale observes, “Numerous analysts had long said that such an Iranian response was possible or likely—and Iran itself had warned that it planned to target US allies in the region if attacked.” 

He offers several specifics: “Iran said it was going to do it. I expected it. Everyone who follows Iran to any extent expected it,” Alan Eyre, a fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank and former State Department official, posted on X on Monday in response to Trump’s comments.” 

And: “Arta Moeini, managing director of the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy think tank, posted on X on Monday: ‘We ALL said this is exactly what was going to happen: a hardened Islamic Republic, a region-wide war to break (Gulf Cooperation Council) economies, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to precipitate a global energy crisis.’”

Neighbors Concern. Dale recounts, “U.S. allies in the region were concerned about the possibility of facing attacks. Politico reported in February that ‘according to four Arab officials from two countries, the president and top aides have listened to their concerns about a US attack on Iran leading to counter-attacks on neighboring countries that could spark a protracted regional conflict,’ while a February article in a prominent Israeli newspaper said, ‘For the Gulf states, the most immediate danger is an Iranian response directed at their territory. Energy infrastructure, desalination facilities, ports and, above all, U.S. military bases hosted on their soil would likely be prime targets.”

Which, of course, is precisely what occurred.

Ex-Trumper John Bolton Responds. Ellen Mitchell writes, “Bolton Says He Briefed Trump on Iran Scenarios: ‘Hard to Believe That He Forgot,’ ” The Hill, March 18, 2026: Speaking on CNN Tuesday evening, Bolton said that on multiple occasions he brought up scenarios in which Iran was attacked and responded with retaliatory strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere.”

Mitchell recounts, “Bolton, who served under Trump before a public falling out, said he was surprised by Trump’s claims.”

Do I sense a lengthening of another proboscis? On the other hand, check out The Trump Report of two months ago, “Trump’s Acting Like He’s At The End of his Presidency,” January 8, 2026. 

John Bolton on a Times Radio podcast. 

The Trump Report is a podcast feature of Times Radio, in turn of London’s The Times newspaper.  

Chaos Within. Kathryn Watson reports “Top Trump Counterterrorism Official Joe Kent Resigns Over Iran, Saying It ‘Posed No Imminent Threat to Our Nation,” CBS News, March 18, 2026.

 She writes, “Kent, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate last year, posted his resignation letter on X Tuesday morning, saying he ‘cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.’ ”  

In Conclusion. I am reminded of Jack Tapper’s comment: “Let’s be clear: It is the news media’s responsibility to cover this war, not to cheerlead for it…. We’re not going to stop. It doesn’t matter how many times the propaganda campaign that accompanies any war is deployed against us. So, get used to it.” ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026