The Times dodges again

A new headline in The New York Times: “How Trump Decided to Go to War.” And the subhead: “President Trump’s embrace of military action in Iran was spurred by an Israeli leader determined to end diplomatic negotiations.”

An Israeli leader? That’s remarkably coy. “An Israeli leader” is the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not want diplomacy to forestall a war:

The U.S. decision to strike Iran was a victory for Mr. Netanyahu, who had been pushing Mr. Trump for months on the need to hit what he argued was a weakened regime. During a meeting at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in December, Mr. Netanyahu had asked for the president’s approval for Israel to hit Iran’s missile sites in the coming months.

Two months later, he got something even better: a full partner in a war to topple the Iranian leadership.

And it turns out — no surprise — that the current occupant and his people have lied to lawmakers and the public about a desire for regime change and the possibility of significant casualties.

Read the article (gift link), despite its coy subhead. We are in such deep trouble.