President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes heard the news that President Donald Trump had ordered a strike on Venezuelan military sites and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and was triggered. For Rhodes, the operation brought up painful memories of Trump obliterating the nuclear enrichment sites in Iran, not to mention his Christmas Day strikes on ISIS strongholds in Nigeria. For Rhodes, there was no coherent rationale for any of these strikes.

In the wake of the growing protests against the Islamic Republic in more than 50 cities, Trump posted that the United States is "locked and loaded and ready to go" if Iran starts killing protesters.

"Hamas" was reportedly Rhodes' code name in the Obama White House.

Rhodes needs to pace himself. It's only 2026.

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