'Draft-dodger' Trump fails 'to learn the most obvious lesson' of war: analysis

Donald Trump's handling of the war against Iran has shown that he, a "draft dodger" unfamiliar with "the terrible realities of war," has "failed to learn the most obvious lesson" of modern warfighting, according to a new analysis from The i Paper.

Writing for the outlet on Monday, columnist Ian Birrell argued that the conflict against Iran has shown how "the world's most powerful nation has failed to spot that warfare has changed." Despite the overwhelming power and resources wielded by the U.S. military, it has so far failed to bring about a meaningful regime change in the Middle Eastern nation, with the Iranian government withstanding bombardment and digging in its heels against the U.S. and Israel.

"They have responded by choosing [Ayatollah] Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, as new leader while inflicting death and destruction across their region with swarms of drones and missiles fired into the skies, striking as far afield as Azerbaijan and Cyprus while killing US troops and Israeli civilians," Birrell wrote. "The surviving remnants of the regime – despite relentless bombardment – have managed to launch more than 2,000 drones along with hundreds of missiles against at least 10 countries allied to their attackers. These have hit military bases, communication hubs, data centres, diplomatic buildings, energy infrastructure and even tourist facilities to set nerves jangling far beyond the theatre of war."

This resilience on the part of the Iranian government and military, Birrell argued, reflects the new reality of war in the 21st Century, where cheaper hardware has empowered smaller nations to hold their own against aggression from more powerful adversaries. This might have been clear to Trump — who was famously accused of fabricating a medical condition to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War — if he had learned the major lessons of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The world’s most powerful nation, with its formidable armed forces, deep-rooted intelligence, massive spending and unrivaled technology, has failed to learn the most obvious lesson of the Ukrainian war: that cheap, mass-produced drones have changed warfare by enabling weaker nations to resist stronger forces with attritional tactics," Birrell argued. "As a result the US – locked in the traditional mindset of military power – has burned at an alarming rate through its costly, limited stocks of advanced anti-aircraft weaponry to thwart these waves of Iranian drones."

While Iran has made do with its cheaper supply of drones, the U.S. has burned through over $2.5 billion worth of high-end munitions so far. Despite Trump's claim that the country has a "virtually unlimited supply" of this critical hardware, he has reportedly pressed defense contractors to ramp up production while his administration, as it so often does, has pinned the blame on Joe Biden for his support of Ukraine.

"Instead of its usual insults, the White House would have been wiser to seek Kyiv’s help since it is at the cutting edge of drone warfare in both attack and defense," Birrell suggested. "The country, fighting for survival, has become a world-leading innovator in the use of artificial intelligence, cheap interceptor drones, lasers, listening devices and even military procurement to rapidly develop methods to destroy Moscow’s airborne onslaught."

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