The Struggle for the Soul of America: Is the Iran War Becoming Trump’s Vietnam Quagmire?

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Author: Bruce Berlin

The Making of a Quamire by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam tells how the United States created a major foreign policy disaster for itself in Vietnam in the 1960s.[1] The book recounts the blunders and misconceptions of American military and political leaders which resulted in the prolonged Vietnam War that the United States eventually lost after approximately $1 trillion spent in today’s dollars, two decades of fighting and over 58,000 American fatalities.[2]

In February 1965, President Lyndon Johnson “authorized Rolling Thunder, the sustained bombing of North Vietnam.”[3] Similarly, in February 2026, President Trump unleashed Operation Epic Fury, a very extensive air attack on Iran.[4] Five months after Rolling Thunder began pummeling North Vietnam, Johnson made a pivotal decision to significantly escalate US involvement in the Vietnam War. Distorted evidence regarding American ships being attacked in the Tonkin Gulf,[5] withholding important information from the public and the Congress about the state of the war, and false projections propelled our nation into full-scale warfare in Vietnam for another eight years.[6]

Now, over sixty years later, Trump also “has lied about the reasons for the war and about its progress…”[7] Having misled the American people, he faces the same perilous choice Johnson did of whether to greatly escalate his war against Iran. On the one hand, Trump claims “we are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.”[8] On the other hand, the president is sending several thousand “new U.S. ground forces near the region and continuing to strike Iranian targets.” At the same time, Trump is also threatening to obliterate Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz.[9]

Then, last Monday, Trump postponed strikes against Iran’s power plants for five days claiming that “very strong talks” to end the war were occurring. But a top Iranian official quickly denied such talks were being held.[10] That raised the distinct possibility that Trump is just buying time to get the U.S.’s next offensive, which would most likely include ground troops, ready to strike. Once again, the great con artist is trying to pull one over on the American people. By now, however, a strong majority of Americans get Trump’s self-serving doublespeak and don’t trust anything he says.

If Trump does choose to go down the road of increasing American attacks on Iran, we are likely to see a continuing military buildup similar to that which occurred during the Vietnam War. With no clear objectives or end game in sight, the president could very well be thrusting our nation into an Iranian quagmire for who knows how long. And for what? Not being a student of history, Trump fails to recognize he is taking the country down the same dead-end road that left the Taliban running Afghanistan after 20 years of our fighting to remove them from power.[11] Believing he’s invincible, Trump overlooks the fact that the Iraq War proved to be a failed, costly endeavor for the United States as well[12]

With a protracted war in Iran, the best Trump could hope for is an agreement that would, in all probability, be no better than the one Obama made with Iran in 2015.[13] Being an extreme narcissist who always thinks his way is best, Trump tore up Obama’s accord after he became president. Our con artist-in-chief has since tried to make Americans believe that he would make a deal with Iran that was better than Obama’s. And even if he did — the chances of that being extremely slim – would it be worth the hundreds of billions of dollars and the loss of thousands of lives such an outcome would require? Not to mention all the critical domestic needs our America First president would have to ignore in the process.

Clearly, the GOP does not have the chutzpah to deter Trump from this Vietnam-like tragedy in the making. Nor do the minority Democrats. But the American people can stop him. We must do everything in our power to prevent Trump from taking our country over this foreseeable cliff.

Call or write your Congresspeople. Write letters to the editor. Join the No Kings protest on March 28^th. Get involved in the mid-term elections. Make your voice heard. The stakes are too high to sit this one out.

Bruce Berlin, JD

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), and his new memoir, From Camden to Kathmandu. (See bruceberlinauthor.com) He is the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at bruceberlin45@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/

[1] https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Making_of_a_Quagmire.html?id=H77nHlw3qs8C

[2] https://www.warcosts.org/conflicts/vietnam-war

[3] https://millercenter.org/president/lbjohnson/foreign-affairs

[4] https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/03/peace-through-strength-president-trump-launches-operation-epic-fury-to-crush-iranian-regime-end-nuclear-threat/

[5] https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2008/february/truth-about-tonkin

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/29/opinion/lying-about-vietnam.html

[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/opinion/iran-war-trump-lying.html#:~:text=From%20his%20first%20announcement%20of,crimes%20can%20become%20more%20common.

[8] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/us/politics/trump-iran-offramp.html

[9] https://www.npr.org/2026/03/22/nx-s1-5756308/trump-threatens-obliterate-irans-power-plants-iran-strikes-2-israeli-cities

[10] https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/23/world/iran-war-oil-trump

[11] https://laurajedeed.medium.com/afghanistan-meant-nothing-9e3f099b00e5

[12] https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/shock-and-awe-life-in-iraq-twenty-years-after-the-us-led-invasion/#:~:text=ultimately%20fruitless%20enterprise.-,The%20invasion%20of%20Iraq%20is%20widely%20recognized%20as%20a%20costly,veterans%2C%20have%20been%20widely%20discussed.

[13] https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/328996

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Will History Repeat Itself?

Posted on March 8, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

In the summer of 1968, the Democratic Party held its national convention in Chicago to nominate its candidates for president and vice president. This summer, 56 years later, the Democrats will again gather in Chicago for their national convention.

Back then, the Vietnam War was raging. Thousands of our soldiers were dying in Southeast Asia and millions of Americans were marching against the war here at home.[1] Now, while no American soldiers are currently fighting in the Middle East, the United States is funding Israel’s war against Hamas. Thousands of innocent Gazans are dying, and Americans are again protesting.[2]

The anti-war demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Convention were televised across the world. As the party’s nominee, Humbert Humphry, pledged to continue the war, the protests grew outside the convention hall. The scene became bloody when the Chicago police tried to turn back the demonstrators by beating them with their clubs.[3] It most likely contributed to the Democrats losing the election to former Republican vice president Richard Nixon that fall.

Now President Biden with bipartisan support is unconditionally providing billions of dollars in aid for Israel’s merciless prosecution of the war in Gaza. Despite mounting opposition, Biden has failed to call for a permanent ceasefire. If he does not change course and stop the free flow of U.S. weapons and funds to Israel, Biden will be seriously hampered in his election campaign by his support of what some are calling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.[4]

Biden and the Democrats can ill-afford this self-inflicted wound in their effort to hold onto the White House and the Senate as well as win back the House.[5] Predictions are this will be a close election.[6] We must not let history repeat itself. Instead, we must demand that Biden and the Democrats call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire, and stop the unconditional support of Israel’s war in Gaza NOW!

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moratorium_to_End_the_War_in_Vietnam#:~:text=The%20Moratorium%20to%20End%20the,Moratorium%20March%20in%20Washington%2C%20D.C.

[2] https://apnews.com/article/protest-gaza-israel-palestinians-london-29d5cd664c81654283344d1874691a4f

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protests

[4] https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1227078791/icj-israel-genocide-gaza-palestinians-south-africa

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/28/biden-netanyahu-israel-gaza-war-2024-election

[6] https://www.racetothewh.com/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Myth of a United States

Posted on September 17, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

From the founding of the United States till today, our country has portrayed itself as united. In the Declaration of Independence, our forefathers asserted that we are “one people.”[1]

The preamble to the Constitution begins: “We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…”[2] And, when we pledge allegiance to the flag, we say: “”I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”[3]

But, from the birth of our nation over 240 years ago until today, the truth is our country has rarely been united. From the very beginning, we had slave states and free states forbidding slavery. Back then as is still true now, we had the property-owning class, or capitalists, overseeing the working class.

After slavery was abolished during the Civil War, we still had the segregationist South, in conflict with the North, which generally favored integration. And, of course, we now have the blue states strongly disagreeing with the red states over abortion rights, immigration, voting rights and other major issues.

I believe World War II was the last time our country was truly united. What brought us together was a common enemy, the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan), which threatened the freedom of all Americans. Yes, 9/11 brought us together as well, but it didn’t take long before we were once again at odds over the Iraq War.[4]

Since the Vietnam War in the 1960s, our nation has become more and more divided. Today we are almost as deeply split as we were during the Civil War. In fact, some are predicting that the United States is on the verge of a second Civil War.

What separates us now strikes at the very foundation of our nation. While many Americans are fighting to maintain the democratic principles upon which the country was established, others wish to turn the United States into an autocracy, ruled by Donald Trump and his white supremacist, MAGA followers.

And they appear to be willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Be it storming the Capitol, suppressing the vote, rigging the elections, stacking the Supreme Court, or whatever else they can fabricate.

We are the only ones who stand in their way. It is up to all of us who still believe in democracy to make sure they fail. Despite what you may think of President Biden and the Democrats, they are our only hope of preserving some semblance of democracy in America.

In fact, in recent weeks the Democrats have demonstrated that they just might be up to this awesome responsibility. They passed the Inflation Reduction Act making the system somewhat fairer for we, the people, including lowering a number of prescription drug prices and imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on large corporations, while every Senate Republican opposed the bill.[5] In addition, they enacted the most notable gun safety legislation in decades[6] and a bill to assist ailing veterans.[7] And, in just the last few days, Biden stepped in to support rail workers and avert a strike that would have further increased inflation and devastated our economy.[8]

Despite right-wing opposition, the Democrats are employing the mechanisms of government to help Americans and move our country forward. With less than eight weeks left until the elections, we must do whatever we can to assure that the Democrats prevail in November.

We must go the extra mile, make many phone calls, write postcards (Go to https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/), knock on doors, send donations. The future of democracy depends on what we all do to get out the vote and make sure that our nation does not succumb to the election deniers and far right conspiracy extremists. If ever your country needed you to stand up and get involved, it is now!

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.ushistory.org/documents/declaration.htm

[2] https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/constitution?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvZCZBhCiARIsAPXbajtkXDb1iDTs6XOZWdFvpQarisNuvZktlvFd9MJuAYVnXr5kc50qtlcaAvEoEALw_wcB

[3] https://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm

[4] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rally-round-the-flag-opinion-in-the-united-states-before-and-after-the-iraq-war/

[5] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/07/democrats-senate-reconciliation-votearama-00050222

[6] https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/23/politics/senate-bipartisan-gun-bill/index.html

[7] https://www.npr.org/2022/08/02/1115325176/pact-act-veterans-burn-pits-toxins-passes-senate

[8] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-announces-tentative-deal-avert-us-rail-strike-rcna47850

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can We Do Something Meaningful to Stop Ukrainian Disaster?

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

I’m in Boynton Beach, Florida visiting a friend with my partner. Last night we went out to dinner on the oceanfront. All the restaurants were buzzing with people eating, drinking, having a good time. From the looks of it, you’d never know that we just might be on the brink of World War III.

On the other side of the planet, Russian tanks and artillery are demolishing Ukrainian towns and cities. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people are fleeing their homes. Despite valiant resistance, Ukraine is slowly being overrun by Vladimir Putin and his massive army.

We are at a loss of what to do to prevent such a catastrophe. We send donations. Hope and pray for peace. But really feel helpless, or do not think about it at all.

We leave it to our elected officials to deal with such overwhelming matters. And we fail to remember how the people’s silence helped another tyrant overrun Europe less than a century ago.

So, what can we, the people, do? While there is no silver bullet to stop the invasion of Ukraine, we cannot sit idly by. We must make our voices heard and support the Ukrainian people with donations and supplies. Ukrainians are showing what unarmed people can do to resist. This unarmed part of the resistance is gaining momentum:

“Coordinated resistance can spread and move from inspirational isolated acts to decisive acts capable of rebuffing an advancing army…In shared videos, unarmed communities are facing down Russian tanks with apparent success…The tank driver either does not have authorization or interest in opening fire. They choose retreat. This is being repeated in small towns across Ukraine.”[1]

In fact, some Russian soldiers who learn the truth about their invasion of Ukraine are laying down their arms, even disabling their own armored vehicles.[2]

At the same time, focusing on the Russian people might well be our most effective strategy. We need to flood the Russian people with the truth about the atrocities against Ukraine that their government is committing in their name. Many Russians have friends and/or relatives who live in Ukraine. Ukrainians and Russians share languages, families, and an extensive web of history and culture.

The Russian government has been unable to block social media’s pro-Ukraine and anti-government views. Only 47 percent of younger Russians — more attuned to this media than their elders — support the war. Authorities’ further efforts to block access to independent social media “would come at a high political price among a skeptical, social-media-addicted younger generation. And a younger, antiwar generation increasingly opposed to an aging, isolated leadership may — as the Soviets discovered after their disastrous adventure in Afghanistan — cause unexpected problems for Vladimir Putin.”[3]

A great many Russians oppose this war. As the sanctions being imposed on Russia take their toll, more and more Russians will protest and demand that the invasion must cease. As Time magazine recently observed, “Protests, fueled by the disconnect between the people and the actions of the government intent on suppressing all opposition, could be Putin’s eventual undoing…it is clear that war enthusiasm is already drying up.”[4]

Just as Americans’ protest against the Vietnam War hastened that war’s end, so can Russian dissent quicken the conclusion of the Ukrainian invasion. Americans must do whatever we can to increase the Russians’ awareness of the injustices and atrocities that their government is inflicting on the Ukrainian people. That may well be our best shot at peace in Ukraine.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://wagingnonviolence.org/2022/02/ukraine-secret-weapon-civilian-resistance/

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/world/europe/russia-troops-pentagon.html

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/04/russian-social-media-ukraine-vk-propaganda/

[4] https://time.com/6154240/russia-protests-war-ukraine-putin/