That is ascribing far too much strategic thinking to this administration. They're just not capable of the kind of planning and foresight that would require.

The administration's planning is much more along the lines of, Will this look cool when they announce it on Fox News tomorrow? If you think there's much beyond that, you're ascribing strategic clarity where there isn't any. They're continue to flail around and TACO until they have a result they can present to MAGA loyalists as a success, regardless of actual merits.

It's not a question of ethics. It's a question of competence.