Trump’s war with Iran signals perilous shift from showman to strongman

The emergence of Hawk Trump dismayed some of his Maga base but students of US adventurism were unsurprised

So the military parade that brought tanks to the streets of Washington on Donald Trump's birthday was more than just an authoritarian ego trip. It was a show of strength and statement of intent.

Exactly a week later, sporting a Make America great again" (Maga) cap in the situation room, the American president ordered the biggest US military intervention in decades as more than 125 aircraft and 75 weapons - including 14 bunker-busting bombs - struck three Iranian nuclear sites. Trump called it a spectacular military success" - but it remains unclear how much damage had actually been inflicted.