Donald Trump‘s war of choice against Iran is spiraling. For five decades, experts have warned that military conflict with the country would destabilize the Middle East and fracture the global order. Trump knew this, and yet he proceeded anyway.
Previous American presidents have treated their role as commander-in-chief with great respect bordering on dread. Abraham Lincoln’s depression deepened during the Civil War, and the physical toll the conflict took on him can be seen in a series of famous daguerreotypes by Alexander Gardner, Matthew Brady and others. During the Vietnam War, Lyndon Johnson appeared to age in real-time as he and his military advisers sent tens of thousands of American soldiers to their deaths.
