Not because America is getting stronger, but because it's running out of time.
He believes Trump knows the window for this war is rapidly closing and that he can't sustain the conflict indefinitely.
So instead, Trump's trying one final gamble: Escalate hard enough, and fast enough, that Iran finally breaks.
The problem is that every new strike is hardening Iranian public opinion.
A population that overwhelmingly opposed developing nuclear weapons before the conflict is, he says, becoming increasingly convinced they need one as the only reliable deterrent against another attack.
That's why Robert believes Trump's strategy is fundamentally flawed.
He's trying to force concessions from a country that now sees surrender as even more dangerous than war.
Robert doesn't think America has the military, economic, or political capacity to keep this conflict going for months.
His expectation is a short, intense escalation followed by Trump declaring victory and looking for an exit.
But if Trump keeps trying to force one last breakthrough, Iran could retaliate by striking critical infrastructure across the Gulf.
Trump may be escalating because he knows time is running out.
But every escalation is making the outcome he wants less likely, not more.
@barnes_law
