A Community-wide US Intelligence assessment before the Trump attack on Iran concluded that the Iranian government was unlikely to be destroyed by outside military force. As with the Iraq war, the US Administration chose to ignore the advice of its intelligence analysts and embrace the advice of the neocons. Also today, Trump launches new Latin America military coalition.

The Trump Administration was warned that any attack on Iran would lead to a regional war in the Middle East, but he chose to ignore voices of caution and went with his “feeling” as the White House described it. Less than a week later, every US military base in the region is damaged or destroyed and other countries in the region are being drawn in. The quick victory promise has given way to increased calls for a US ground invasion. Mainstream media in the US is non-stop war propaganda, but reality is biting the warmakers hard.

President Trump will deliver the annual report to Congress on the first year of his second Administration. It is a State of the Union speech given as the country stands on the precipice of a major war in the Middle East. Concerns about the economy after the implosion of his plan to save the country with tariffs are driving discontent and lowering approval numbers. What should the President be saying to the country tonight and what should he be saying?