The ‘Don Tzu’ Solution to Ending the Iran War

Don Tzu, a portmanteau of Donald Trump and Sun Tzu, is a newish genre of internet memes that aptly summarizes the strategic position of the White House roughly a month after the American president launched his war against Iran. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, neither does your enemy,” says one aphorism. “You can’t lose if you don’t have a goal,” goes another.

The meme fits in part because it captures the nebulousness of the multiple and constantly shifting justifications for the war, and for the stated military objectives as it progresses. “I may have a plan or I may not,” the commander-in-chief has said, as though embracing Don Tzu as his alter ego.