Trump’s Iran Raid Fixed What Biden’s Afghanistan Debacle Broke

Nearly one month after President Donald Trump’s bold decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites, doomsday predictions from many on the left – and even some on the right – about the U.S. becoming embroiled in another Middle East quagmire have not come to pass. Moreover, the raid has sent a powerful message that America is back and has begun to restore the confidence and prestige of the U.S. military after a long hangover from former President Joe Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.

A new Harvard-Harris poll out this week highlights the broad support for both Trump’s actions and how they have helped restore confidence in the military. 58 percent of respondents approved of the strike on Iran, including 38 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of Independents. 54 percent called it a “major” accomplishment of the U.S. military, and an equal number said it “restored U.S. deterrence in the region and elsewhere. An overwhelming 86 percent of respondents agreed with Trump’s assertion that Iran must not be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.

Concerns about America’s standing in the world spiked during the Biden years, peaking in 2022 when 68 percent of respondents to a Pew Research survey said that the United States was less respected on the global stage than it had been in the past. A majority also said that perceived weakness was a major issue and could attract aggression from hostile foreign powers.

It was no coincidence that the result came just one year after Biden’s Afghanistan debacle, which led to the death of 13 American servicemembers. After promising during his 2020 campaign to make America “respected” on the world stage, Biden’s shameful failure in Afghanistan dashed the confidence of not just the American people but the entire world in the United States and opened the door for a wave of unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East, and elsewhere.

Trump’s calculated decision to bomb Iran has begun to restore America’s global image, despite the corporate media’s portrayal of the attack as an ad hoc, almost whimsical decision made at the last moment. As the Pentagon explained, such an operation has been in preparation for more than a decade, since at least 2009 when the military began developing “bunker buster” bombs.

“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated – choose your word. This was a historically successful attack,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said following the mission. Other experienced politicians and military specialists I spoke with echoed that analysis.

Ambassador Zalman Shoval, a veteran Israeli politician and diplomat, told me in an exclusive interview that Trump’s decision was “truly historic” and “phenomenal.” He said that the operation combined with Israel’s efforts should halt Iran’s nuclear program for “several years,” which could perhaps “transform Iran internally into a peaceful country” and may have “saved” the Middle East from a nuclear catastrophe.

“This will not only promote peaceful resolutions between certain Arab states and Israel, but also foster harmony in the bilateral relations between many of them,” he emphasized.

A former Japanese intelligence official I spoke with emphasized that the sweeping success of the airstrike also undoubtedly caught the attention of American adversaries elsewhere. “Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow watched the U.S. move out of Afghanistan and saw opportunity. Now, they are switching to a mood of panic as America reasserts itself.”

Intelligence reports from South Korea said that the lights in Kim Jong Un’s fortress remained on for 72 hours following the strike. In Kabul, many Taliban officials hid instead of going to work.

The strikes also caught Chinese Communist Party officials off guard and dashed their plans to weaken the United States through regional wars by supporting terrorist groups targeting Americans. Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng told me that the CCP’s plans to displace the United States as the world’s dominant power rely on Iran continuing to act as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, drawing in ever more American resources

But as alarmed as the CCP was, Beijing walked back initial indications that it would support Iran, saying that China “cannot provide Iran with unconditional protection.” One by one, the Iranian regime’s supposed allies failed to rush to its aid, revealing just how isolated Tehran truly is.

Despite the stunning success of the mission, however – something even America’s adversaries were quick to acknowledge, some Western leaders expressed “concerns” about the attack and reiterated calls to return to “the negotiating table.” One exception was Argentinian President Javier Milei, who said Argentina would be “on the right side of history” for supporting the attack.

Trump’s strike on Iran didn’t ignite a regional war – it reestablished American strength. It showed that the era of appeasement is over and that the United States will act decisively to defend its interests. After years of retreat, America is once again leading from a position of power and resolve.

Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.