Trump publicly shares why he called off Iran strike
Jonathan Schanzer and Michael O’Hanlon weigh in on President Trump’s decision to publicly state that he was planning to attack Iran and why he chose to stop it.
One of President Trump's most vocal critics offered rare praise for him on Friday after he backed away from a military strike on Iran.
"I do applaud Trump’s decision not to carry out what would have been a disproportionate strike that would have led to 150 or so fatalities," former CIA Director John Brennan told MSNBC on Friday.
Brennan, who has vehemently criticized Trump's handling of the Russia investigation, said that the strike would have prompted "a very dangerous escalatory spiral" in the region.
Trump, on Friday, said that he halted the strike just 10 minutes prior because of the projected casualty loss, saying that it wasn't a "proportionate" response to Iran previously shooting down an American military drone.
INSIDE IRAN'S DEADLY ARMORY AND ITS CAPABILITIES TO FIGHT US
The decision came as observers speculated that Trump was reluctant to strike Iran but faced internal pressure from National Security Advisor John Bolton, typically thought of as a hawk on foreign policy.
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On Friday, Brennan praised Trump for ignoring Bolton's and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's interests.
"I give him credit, and I rarely do that, but I give him credit for being almost the adult in the room because of the war hawk like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo who are pushing towards this confrontation that is not in anyone’s interest, especially the United States," Brennan said.
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