When Power Needs a War: Trump, Netanyahu, and the Anatomy of Manipulated Chaos

War makes weak men look strong—at least for a while. But history tells us: it’s always the people who pay the price.

I spent the weekend doing something that’s become a necessary civic habit in this dangerous time: reading—deeply and widely.

What I came away with weren’t just headlines or hashtags, but two insights that struck me as painfully accurate.

The first came from Olivia Troye, a former national security advisor in the Trump administration. She wrote:

“Trump dismantled diplomacy, gutted the national security apparatus and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, decisions that helped destabilize the region. Now, it’s all bravado and this attack on Iran is likely to lead to a protracted conflict. This is provocation through chaos. This isn’t a ‘win.’”

The second came from George Conway, who has made a habit of puncturing the delusions of Trumpism with surgical precision:

“Much as I would not dare to predict the consequences of this war, I do think we can summarize it thusly so far:

A smart and evil man manipulated a stupid and evil man into a war against a fanatical and evil regime.”

With those two truths ringing in my ears, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we’re not just watching a war unfold—we’re watching a pattern repeat.

Ego, Envy, and the Strongman Stage

Trump told Netanyahu not to strike Iran. Bibi did it anyway.

That alone was enough to spark Trump’s need for revenge—or more precisely, to reclaim the spotlight. He couldn’t stand being upstaged. So what does he do?

He gives Netanyahu what he’s wanted for years: a U.S. escalation with Iran. A show of force. A war to distract and define him.

Never mind that the U.S. intelligence community—17 agencies strong—has long held that Iran wasn’t close to having a nuclear weapon. Never mind the absence of a threat that justified this sudden aggression.

This wasn’t about defense.

It was about dominance.

And as Olivia Troye pointed out, the architecture for this disaster was laid long ago—when Trump abandoned diplomacy, gutted our national security infrastructure, and walked away from the Iran nuclear deal just to prove he could.

My Window Into Netanyahu’s Playbook

Years ago, I attended a counterterrorism conference in Israel with my son, who at the time was the LAPD’ chief of counterterrorism. We met with senior intelligence officials—including a high-ranking Mossad officer who, at the time, warned us bluntly: Netanyahu is dangerous.

He feared Bibi’s authoritarian impulses and the damage they would inflict on Israel’s democracy.

We saw Israel’s intelligence machine in action that week. When a suspected suicide bomber was heading for Jerusalem, Mossad identified him, the driver, and their route in under 20 minutes. The suicide bomber, his driver and the vehicle were neutralized within 5 minutes after crossing from the Territories. That’s how fast and precise their response can be.

So when Hamas carried out its monstrous October 7 attack—killing civilians, kidnapping innocents—it raised haunting questions. Not just about Hamas’s evil, which is undisputed, but about Israel’s delayed response.

Why, if Israel had intelligence months in advance—confirmed again just days before the attack—was no action taken?

Why did it take seven hours for the military to respond?

Bibi was under indictment. His government was paralyzed. His far-right allies were itching for war. And he got one.

One Authoritarian Learns from Another

Bibi’s war saved his political skin. And now Trump’s trying the same play.

He’s not doing this with strategy or statesmanship. He’s doing it with chaos. With ego. With the help of people who are either ideologically extreme, grossly incompetent—or both.

He is, as George Conway put it, the “stupid and evil man” manipulated by the “smart and evil” one.

That manipulation has now led us into a war with a fanatical regime—without debate, without clear objectives, and with only one certainty: the consequences will fall hardest on innocent people.

What’s at Stake

Trump’s legal walls are closing in. The midterms could flip Congress. Impeachment looms. The economy wobbles. His foreign policy record is a graveyard of broken treaties and burned alliances.

And now he’s a “wartime president.”

That’s the branding play, anyway.

The real game? Float martial law. Disrupt elections. Cement power before accountability catches up.

I’m not saying this is a master plan. Trump isn’t capable of one. But he’s plenty capable of impulsive self-preservation. And that’s what makes him so dangerous.

We Don’t Need a Security Clearance to See the Truth

I don’t pretend to be a geopolitical strategist. But I know the smell of cover stories, and I know the sound of desperate men wrapping themselves in flags while lighting the fuse.

We’ve seen this story before—in our own history and abroad. Wars launched for glory. For distraction. For ego. For power.

The question is: Will we fall for it again?

What You Can Do

Talk about this. Don’t let the noise drown out the patterns.

Share this post with those who still believe in elections, not war, to determine our future.

Subscribe free if you believe democracy is worth defending—loudly, relentlessly, and with eyes wide open.

When power needs a war, the people always pay the price.

Let’s not be fooled. Not this time.

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Some housekeeping:

In my June 21 Newsletter I asked:

“So Why Is No One Stepping Up?

Why is LAPD not investigating what happened to Job Garcia?”

Correction: Job Garcia, a U.S. citizen, was abducted by federal agents in the City of Burbank, CA, not Los Angeles - the question should have been directed at the Burbank Police Department.

Personal note: My long time LAPD partner and friend for life, Joe Gunn, caught the error and called me on it.

Thanks, Joe.

(Note: Joe lives in Burbank and once served that city as a member of the BPD civilian board of police commissioner’s ).