Today, the Trump-appointed Director of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned, citing his disagreement with the president’s rationale and decision to go to war with Iran.
This afternoon, I had a conversation about the conflict and the president’s actions with Melinda Henneberger, columnist and investigative journalist at the Kansas City Stack. Among the topics we discussed:
“Imminent” — the meaning of the word as it relates to national threats
The (continuing) nuclear threat in Iran
Politicians using Israel as a “wedge” issue
The war plan — what is it?
The rising threat of radical cells inside the U.S.
How national media should change the way it covers mass killers
(Note: Today we tested Substack’s new Recording Studio tool, so please forgive any glitches!)
Excerpt from Kansas City Stack’s Melinda Henneberger:
“My first thought about the war cannot really be separated from my feelings about this administration. Because in a way that’s never been the case with any previous president, Republican, or Democrat — I don’t necessarily trust what this administration is telling me. Has every other president told the truth at all times? No, of course not. But, you know, this is a minute by minute thing with this president, and when he says there’s an imminent threat, I personally did not believe that. When he said we are gonna be attacked, he said ‘it’s 100%, we’re gonna be attacked. So we have to attack now.’ And that’s why we did. I learned of it afterwards. I woke up the next morning and it had already happened. So I was not convinced we needed to go. I didn’t see why. And my opinion has only hardened when I see the mess it’s caused — the human suffering, the economic suffering. I don’t see how we get out of this. And now, I wonder, did we go in because of the lobbying by his son in law? Jared Kushner, who works for Saudi Arabia and other interests in the Middle East?”
MICHAEL GOLDEN is an national award-winning journalist and the bestselling author of Ethical Tribing and Unlock Congress. He is the cofounder of One Million Degrees.
