It is never a good idea in politics to engage an opponent without any allies. Going it alone seldom works. And yet Trump, apart from Israel and a few Gulf States, has taken the country into a war against Iran with few supporters internationally, not to mention growing opposition here at home. Even his MAGA movement is riven with splits over the war. And there is no reason to think things will get better in this regard.

Moreover, while winning some tactical victories on the battlefield, the same can’t be said regarding his strategic objectives — displacing Iran’s leadership, opening up the Strait of Hormuz, expanding the war coalition — haven’t been achieved. So where are we? We are left with a beleaugued president, clearly on the defensive, but also unpredictable. And therein lies the danger of this moment.

The danger of this moment is an escalation of the current war against Iran. The argument heard in the media is that Trump botched the war against Iran and the subsequent negotiations. As a result the Iranians still have nuclear material and capability, the cease fire has failed, and, above all, the Strait of Homuz is still closed. And only, so goes the logic of the argument, a resumption and escalation of the war can clean up the mess that Trump created and left behind.

The events of recent days have revealed a structural flaw in and a dangerous feature of our political system insofar as the president can decide, practically speaking, whether or not the country goes to war against a foreign adversary irrespective of what Congress and the American people, even the president’s advisors, think is the best course of action.

While this has always been the case, it comes into sharp and bold relief in recent days and weeks as Trump’s decision to go to war against Iran was soley decided by a self described “genius.” Neither Congress nor the American people had any say in the matter. Nor did the views of even his own party and movement figure into the decision. And even if they did, it wouldn’t have mattered. It was his decision alone.

While this feature of our political system can’t be changed overnight, it should be on the agenda of the American people going forward, including in the coming elections this fall. The stakes are too high for it not to be. Tump’s war against Iran starkly remind us that it is a life and death question.

While Trump, facing rising gas prices, an unstable stock market, a restive public, and a stubborn and resourceful opponent, agreed to a temporary ceasefire, no one should think his war of choice is necessarily over. Netanyhu doesn’t as the bombing of South Lebanon and the war against the Palestinian people continues unabated. Nor has Trump shown any inclination to give up his claim that Iran is an existential threat to the American people or his desire to control the flow of oil on a global level.

In the short term, all that anyone who opposes this madness can do is to continue to make their voices heard in every arena where people and politicians gather, not least the massive mobilization planned for May Day.

Looking further down the road, it is imperative to continue to use every site of struggle, not least the fall elections, to throw back Trump and the MAGA movement, while at the same time demanding a robust and egalitarian democracy at home and non violence, sustainability, global cooperation, and a nuclear free planet worldwide.

Under pressure from many sides, Trump retreats for the time being from war and war crimes of his own making. Netanyahu supported him as did the sycophants in his cabinet and too many in his own party, but beyond that human cesspool of inhumanity and moral vacuity he was standing alone here and worldwide.

Impeach Trump!