With Iran war exit elusive, Trump aides vie to affect outcome
www.reuters.com

... A complex tug-of-war inside the White House is driving U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting public statements on the course of the Iran war, as aides debate when and how to declare victory even as the conflict spreads across the Middle East.

Some officials and advisers are warning Trump that surging gasoline prices could exact a political cost from the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, while some others are pressing him to maintain the offensive against the Islamic Republic, according to interviews with a Trump adviser and others close to the deliberations.

Their observations offer a previously unreported glimpse inside White House decision-making as it adjusts its approach to the biggest U.S. military operation since the 2003 Iraq war.

The behind-the-scenes maneuvering underscores the high stakes Trump, who returned to office last year promising to avoid "stupid" military interventions, faces nearly two weeks after plunging the nation into a war that has rattled global financial markets and disrupted the international oil trade.

The jockeying for Trump's ear is a feature of his presidency, but this time the consequences are a matter of war and peace.

Shifting from the sweeping goals he framed in launching the war on February 28, Trump in recent days has emphasized that he views the conflict as a limited campaign whose military objectives have mostly been met.

But the message remains unclear to many, including the energy markets, which have lurched in both directions in response to Trump's statements.

He told a campaign-style rally in Kentucky on Wednesday that "we won" the war, then abruptly pivoted: "We don't want to leave early, do we? We've got to finish the job." ...