A.B.O.U.T. Behavior #17 : Impulsivity
It’s possible that the president took time to consider all available options, and explore the implications of each scenario, before deciding to assassinate Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani. But the currently available evidence indicates that Mr. Trump’s behavior was one more impulsive action demonstrating his ADHD.
The failure to notify the Iraqi government, or even his allies in the US congress, strongly suggests impulsivity, rather than reasoned judgment, drove the decision. In addition to potentially violating both US and international law, this shooting from the hip once again left the president’s defenders flat-footed and unable to provide anything but contrived after-the-fact justifications for the president’s behavior. Nothing here resembles a well thought out plan.
The president’s immediate response to his own action, of sending an additional 3500 troops to the region, belies his claim that he acted “to stop a war”. And he seems poorly prepared for both the clamor of the crowds on the streets, and the comments by leaders of both Iran and Iraq, who fervently protest the killing as a significant escalation of hostility, not an act of pacification, or a measured response to prior provocations.
I am not addressing whether the president’s decisions were “good”, or “moral”…
