ArcaMax

It’s the old Catholic in me, I guess. But I can’t resist. “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I had breakfast with Steve Bannon.”

Well, kind of, sort of. I was one of some 30 journalists who showed up this week for a breakfast with Bannon sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. And, to my total surprise, I actually ended up agreeing with Bannon on one very important and timely issue.

Of course, I bristled when he talked about the “invasion” of “ten million illegal alien invaders.” I bit my tongue when he complained about the “Deep State” actually running the government. And I gagged when he bragged about how well the economy’s doing under Trump Two. But, when it came to Iran, I wanted to stand up and applaud.

“I’m a big supporter of Israel, and always have been,” Bannon declared. But when it came to Israel’s attacks on Iran, Bannon said he’d told President Trump what he believed was the best course: “Israel has to finish what they started.” Israel having started this war, Bannon argued, it was not our job to ride in now, like a Wild West cavalry, to finish the job with a big, bunker-buster bomb. Israel started this war, let them finish it.

Bannon was especially critical of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, basically accusing him of trying to trap the United States into joining his war. Bibi knew Trump was in negotiations with Iran to get them to drop their nuclear enrichment program. He knew Trump had expressed his hope that Israel would hold off, in order to give diplomacy a chance. But, defying the United States, Bib decided to launch his war anyway – and killed most of the Iranian officials the Trump administration had been talking to, making further negotiations pointless.

As Bannon pointed out, Netanyahu also knew that Israel did not have the military capacity to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, which is concentrated 300 feet under a mountain in the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Only a bunker-buster bomb could destroy that facility. Israel doesn’t have one. Only the United States does. So Netanyahu deliberately set up Trump and tried to force his hand. Because, Bibi declared, Iran was only months, or weeks, away from developing a nuclear bomb – which, as several news organizations have documented, is a claim Bibi’s been making every year since 1996!

Netanyahu wasn’t the only target of Bannon’s scorn. He directed much of his criticism against Fox News, which he condemned as a “pure propaganda network.” He accused the network, led by Sean Hannity’s nightly tirades, of beating the war drums for an American invasion of Iran, just like they did in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Based on what proved to be phony intelligence, they propelled America into one “forever” war in the Middle East – and today, Bannon says, based on phony intelligence, Fox News is trying to propel us into yet another one.

Whatever the final decision, Bannon repeatedly emphasized, Trump should not allow Bibi to set the timetable. The president must take the time to get the advice of military leaders, talk to other players in the Middle East, and consider what the American people want, before deciding whether or not to join forces with Israel. There’s no hurry.

But here’s where I strongly disagree with Bannon. Even though, at this point, the MAGA movement overwhelmingly opposes America’s involvement in Iran, Bannon says that if Trump does decide to start a third war, and explains his decision, most MAGA followers will support him. Of course they will. Because they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid. The MAGA movement is a religious cult, blindly worshipping one man. It’s not a serious political movement.

For now, we can only pray that Trump – with one eye on the Nobel Peace Prize – will make the right decision and stay out of Iran. Otherwise, the consequences are unthinkable: inferno in the Middle East, rupture with long-term allies, losses of American lives and resources, all bringing us to the brink, if not the reality, of World War III. The risk is too great. Making Bibi happy is not worth it.

One final point. Let’s remember. Iran had once agreed to cease production of nuclear bombs in a pact negotiated by President Obama. We wouldn’t be in this crisis today if Trump hadn’t canceled that agreement in 2018. He made a huge mistake then. Let’s hope he doesn’t make another one now. Netanyahu is wrong. Diplomacy, not war, is the only answer.

(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod and on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.)

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.