For more than five weeks, President Trump bombarded Iran with missiles and bombs — and the American public with contradictory messaging about the aims and duration of this conflict. On Tuesday, having previously threatened to destroy “a whole civilisation”, he agreed instead to a two-week ceasefire.
History provides a useful point of comparison here. Consider an interview given by Vice-President Vance to UnHerd on April 15, 2025. “Just going back through history, I think — frankly — the British and the French were certainly right in their disagreements with Eisenhower about the Suez Canal,” he said.
