Why Is Trump Attacking Iran? He's Still Figuring It Out.

The president has a offered a series of rationales for the air war, including some that contradict each other.

WASHINGTON — The United States began a war with Iran to re-obliterate Iran’s nuclear weapons program, which purportedly was originally obliterated just eight months ago.

Or maybe it’s because Iran refused to make a “deal.” Or perhaps to replace the hard-line Islamic regime with democracy and freedom. Or replace the current ruler of the hard-line Islamic regime with a different hard-line Islamic ruler.

According to President Donald Trump, it is all of these reasons. Or some mix of them. Or something completely different.

As the biggest U.S. military buildup in two decades and its resultant massive air attack on Iran winds up its third day, the rationale for it still appears to be a work in progress. Trump, after a brief video early Saturday morning announcing that the attack had started, still has not given Congress or the American people a detailed explanation of why he is doing so.

“The decision to put American servicemembers in harm’s way demands clarity, consistency, and honesty with Congress and the public,” said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “So far, we’ve got none of those things.”