What did we win?

It's appropriate, though neither the OAFPOTUS nor any of his droogs will see the irony, that the War of 1812 officially began 214 years ago today when President James Monroe signed a Congressional declaration of war against the United Kingdom. That war ended after 2½ years of minor skirmishes and indecisive naval battles until both sides decided to cut their losses and end it. About 5,000 people died in combat and 30,000 from all causes including disease, 3,000 merchant ships were captured, and the Creek Indians lost 9 million hectares of land as a thank-you for fighting for the United States.

Flash forward to 2026 and the stupidest president we've ever had—let's all ponder the intellectual achievements of Reagan and Harding for a second—has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran that leaves the two countries in approximately the same position they were in before the war he started. Oh, except for the hundreds of Iranians killed, disruption to the world economy, billions of dollars in munitions wasted (to China's glee and Taiwan's discomfort), and the further enrichment of US arms manufacturers.

As Dan Rather put it succinctly, "Trump lost (and so did we):"

By any objective analysis, Donald Trump lost. The buck and the blame begin and end with him.

American citizens lost too, those who voted for him and those who didn’t. Because of the president’s misguided adventure, we are all left with horrific inflation, much higher gas prices, and a country with diminished standing around the world.

More than 5,000 human lives were lost to this war. American, Iranian, Israeli, Lebanese, and Iraqi lives. An additional 35,000 people are estimated to have been injured.

Thirteen members of the American military have been killed and 413 wounded. Those are the official Defense Department numbers.

The financial cost is in the tens of billions of dollars. The Pentagon, no longer a provider of trusted information, puts the direct military cost of war at $29 billion. It has also requested $200 billion from Congress to cover shortfalls, war-related repairs, and equipment replacement.

And does anyone remember when President Obama returned $25 billion of Iran's own money? This new deal would give Iran $300 billion of US taxpayer money as reparations for the damage the OAFPOTUS's illegal war caused.

This helpful chart is making the rounds on social media:

I think Adam Kinzinger had the best take this morning, saying this is what happens when you give a clown a flamethrower:

This is a loss. Not a complicated outcome to be weighed against competing interests. Not a mixed result with some wins and some setbacks. A loss. In Afghanistan, we abandoned allies and handed a country back to the people who made September 11th possible. In Iran, we used the full force of American military power, sustained it for forty days, achieved extraordinary battlefield success — and then cashed out for less than we could have gotten through sustained pressure without firing a single shot.

I believe in democracy, but that belief is tested by citizens who think the Kayfabe of pro wrestling is a good model for governance. Stupid people put this man into office and stupid people are keeping him there. And the whole world suffers.