Trump apparently thinks that he will benefit from this war. He likely felt he needed some action right now to expand his sense of power and cement his reputation. “It is well documented that strongmen are at their most dangerous when they feel threatened,” I wrote in a February 1 New York Times guest essay. “That is why, as popular discontent with the Trump administration’s actions deepens, Americans should brace for heightened militarized domestic repression and more imperialist aggression abroad.”