'Jacksonians' and the Illegal Attack on Iran

Bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities is the definition of seeking out a foreign quarrel.

A recent interview with Walter Russell Mead reminds us that his “Jacksonian” label means whatever he wants it to mean at the moment:

Jacksonians believe the most important priority of the U.S. government in both foreign and domestic policy is the security and well-being of the American people. A Jacksonian holds that the U.S. “should not seek out foreign quarrels, but when the U.S. or its allies are attacked or threatened or even insulted, they can become very energized, like a hive of bees. If the hive is attacked, they will sting with everything they’ve got.” That describes Mr. Trump, whose airstrikes on Iran Mr. Mead calls “a very Jacksonian action.” [bold mine-DL]

Bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities is the definition of seeking out a foreign quarrel. Iran’s facilities posed no threat to the United States, and Iranian forces had done nothing to provoke U.S. military action. Trump joined an illegal attack on another state simply because he could and becaused he wanted to. No American interests were protected or advanced, and U.S. forces were put at greater risk for no good reason. It had absolutely nothing to do with the “the security and well-being of the American people.” It was the worst kind of interventionist do-somethingism imaginable.