Recently, President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Democrats responded with fear that Iran would become angry and retaliate. They must have seen the television show The Incredible Hulk. In that show, the Hulk's alter ego, Dr. David Banner, said, "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry." The audience knew he could transform into an angry creature with enormous strength. The Democrats must see Iran as such a creature.

The truth is that when someone becomes angry, his strength remains the same, but his thoughts become irrational. The one who holds his temper has the advantage.

Over the last 70 years, Democrat presidents have made the Hulk Mistake many times. An example is President Truman. General MacArthur had taken over most of North Korea. Truman worried that China would send its troops in and defeat U.S. forces. Truman ordered MacArthur to avoid attacking anyone on the China side of the North Korean border. This meant that MacArthur had to wait until the Chinese soldiers crossed the border before he could stop them. This is like allowing the Marines to take the beach before shooting. This gave the Chinese a major advantage. North Korea took back its territory, and we had to settle for an armistice. We are still dealing with a bellicose North Korea.

Fifteen years later, President Lyndon Johnson made the same mistake in Vietnam. He refrained from hurting the North Vietnamese too much, lest the Chinese get involved. Thirty-seven thousand dead American soldiers later, he was replaced with President Nixon. Nixon bombed buildings where intelligence indicated the North Vietnamese leaders were. This quickly led to negotiations. The moral of the story is to threaten the leaders.

President Carter saw unrest in Iran. He did nothing and saw the Shah of Iran deposed. He reopened the U.S. embassy there, lest he be seen as unfriendly to the new regime. A few months later, Iran attacked the embassy and had dozens of hostages. Fearing Hulk-like anger, Carter chose not to respond militarily. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan ran for president while giving the subtle implication that he would use American force to resolve the situation. Iran released the hostages a few minutes after Reagan was sworn in as president.

President Johnson had his own hostage crisis. Late in his administration, North Korea hijacked the USS Pueblo. After 11 months of negotiations and Johnson apologizing, the crew was released, but the North Koreans kept the ship as a trophy.

President Ford had a ship hijacked and showed what to do. The North Vietnamese hijacked the S.S. Mayaguez. Ford sent the Marines after them. After a fierce battle, the crew was released unharmed.

President Thomas Jefferson has a story of naval bravery. As soon as he became president, the Pasha of Tripoli demanded money. Jefferson refused. The Pasha, using the Barbary pirates, attacked U.S. ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Jefferson sent his ships after them. It took a few years, but the U.S. was victorious. Just as described in the Marine Hymn, they planted their flag on "the shores of Tripoli."

In Trump's case, only the beginning of Trump's story is similar to Carter's. After the U.S. embassy in Iraq was attacked, American troops fought back and held the position. Soleimani arrived to organize the terrorists and was killed in a U.S. drone attack.

Trump understands the lessons from the above examples. Get a reputation for responding to bullies, and they will leave you alone. Better yet, threaten to kill not just the soldiers, but the leaders, too. They will not react with anger. They will react with fear.