Over the past few weeks, the media have been singing in 100-part harmony that America is headed to war. From Fox News and CNN, to MSNBC and the New York Times, media magpies have been proclaiming that America is going to war with Iran, thanks to the rube-in-chief who has no idea what he is doing.

The New York Times declares the U.S. and Iran are, “At the edge of war.”

The Wall Street Journal at least asks, “Will the U.S. and Iran blunder into war?” The Washington Post acknowledges that, “War with Iran is not inevitable” except for Orange-Man in the White House, adding “But the U.S. must change course.”

It’s interesting and instructive that for the left, it’s always the U.S. that is at fault, that we must change course. Granted sometimes it is, as in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, wars started by the past two presidents.

We have been at war with Iran for 40 years, since the Georgia peanut farmer thought the semi-thuggish Shah of Iran was a bad guy, and a religious fanatic would be a better choice to lead the country.

The reality is that President Trump is changing course, fulfilling a campaign promise to get America out of the endless wars instigated by his predecessors. His doctrine of national security through economic strength is paying dividends.

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Even Tucker Carlson at Fox News, usually a voice of common sense and reason, is beating the war drums. It’s not that he wants war, but he views it as inevitable, as do many of his media colleagues on cable news.

Several days ago, in his monologue, he was convinced war was coming.

If you were in an airport over the weekend, you may have seen American troops on the move, leaving their families on their way to the Middle East. Now, just a month ago, not 1 in 100 Americans was thinking about Iran. Now, suddenly we are on the brink of war.

Tucker didn’t buy Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explaining on the Sunday talk shows that: "The risk of terror is increased by appeasement." No kidding. From Neville Chamberlain to John Kerry, history is replete with appeasement leading to war.

Iran, while until a few weeks ago was all but forgotten, has always been on the back-burner of global turmoil. In 2002, George W. Bush labeled Iran as one of the trio of his “axis of evil,” the other two countries being Iraq and North Korea.

Iraq was taken down by Bush and Cheney shortly after the “axis of evil” designation and remains one of America’s endless wars, costing American lives and treasure, with no clear purpose or endpoint.

North Korea is behaving after the Trump-Kim bromance, despite Hillary Clinton’s predictions that Trump’s twitter bluster against North Korea was “dangerous, short-sighted.” The Queen of Benghazi should look at her own track record, which beside being dangerous and short-sighted, was extremely enriching financially for her and her family.

So where is the war with Iran predicted by hair-on-fire cable news hosts for the past week? Rather than a war, the recent sparring between the U.S. and Iran was more like punches between Mike Tyson and Pee-wee Herman.

Iran foolishly attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad and killed an American contractor. They expected an Obama-Clinton-Kerry like response of a deep bow, followed by ankle grabbing and endless apologies for the past evils of America. If Pee-wee Herman slugged Mike Tyson in the nose, what would the likely response be?

A battering ram of a punchback, as delivered by a MAGA missile to Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi, sending them to paradise along with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who met a similar fate. No war, just a disproportionate punch back as Trump promised.

A few nights later, Iran offered up a faux retaliation, sending up a salvo of missiles which deliberately missed their targets, accompanied by a warning ahead of time to the U.S., just to avoid another Trump-Tyson right cross aimed at Iran’s vital economic or oil infrastructure.

This was more like a choreographed dance rather than war, despite all the media and Democrat handwringing. Iran needed to save face with its fanatic political base, just as Democrats’ efforts at impeachment serve the same purpose, appeasing their rabid far-left base, while accomplishing nothing. Symbolism over substance.

Trump campaigned on exiting our “endless wars.” The sensible view of Trump’s foreign policy is that he has little appetite for starting a new war, whether in Iran or North Korea. Often a war can be nipped in the bud by a few gestures that demonstrate to your foe that they will lose any conflict, quickly and badly.

Which is exactly what Trump did by taking out two top Iranian terrorists, precisely and efficiently. The American military is second to none, with $2.5 trillion over the past three years poured into making the US armed forces great again and the most lethal fighting force on earth.

This is peace through strength, a concept lost on Democrats and many Republicans too, an approach last seen during the Reagan presidency, resurrected in spades in the Trump era. It’s not a war. The U.S. is not the provocateur but stands up for her interests and people. That is how Trump is making America great again.

As the president said in his Jan. 8 speech: “Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.”

Meaning no war, only the left’s fantasy of a war as an albatross to hang around Trump’s neck ahead of the upcoming election. What an optimal time for Trump to take it a step further and get out of the Middle East.

Iraq’s parliament wants us out, passing a non-binding resolution but nonetheless providing a rationale to exit. Let Iran and Iraq duke it out and take over the endless war. Or better yet, let the Gulf Cooperation Council clean up their neighborhood.

We don’t need Middle Eastern oil. But China and Russia do. Let them clean up the Middle East. Rather than building walls and highways in Iraq, let’s do that at home.

We avoided the predicted war, watching a fantasy war blow away in the breeze. Let’s get out before deep state players of the military industrial complex can drag us into another real war.

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a Denver-based physician, freelance writer and occasional radio talk show host whose pieces have appeared in American Thinker, Daily Caller, and other publications. Follow him on Facebook,  LinkedIn, Twitter, and QuodVerum.

Image credit: Alan Light, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0