For years, Donald Trump has been the Houdini of political scandal, slipping out of handcuffs, straitjackets, and even 34 felony convictions with the ease of a man who has no idea what consequences are. But the war in Iran has finally presented a jam that even he can't escape - a conflict that has already claimed 17 American service members' lives, with no clear exit strategy and a growing body count.

Three more U.S. troops died in the past three days: two in Jordan from Iranian missile strikes and one in Iraq from drone debris. The official death toll now stands at 17, though the military has been suspiciously quiet about injuries. Trump's response? "It's a very sad thing," he said, offering no explanation for why his administration is ordering troops into harm's way. As The Atlantic's Tom Nichols notes, that's especially dismaying given the lack of a coherent mission.

The president now faces a series of bad options, according to defense analyst Brynn Tannehill. The U.S. could cede control of the Strait of Hormuz to Iran - breaking centuries of policy and handing a hostile power control over a vital shipping lane - or launch a major ground war, which would be politically hazardous and likely lead to more American deaths. Meanwhile, Iran's Houthi allies are threatening to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further choking global trade.

Trump hasn't helped matters by vacillating on the war's purpose: Is it to prevent Iran from getting nukes? Achieve regime change? Keep the Strait open? The administration can't seem to decide, and Congress is getting skeptical of requests for more war funding.

This is a story of hubris, plain and simple. Trump started a war without planning or considering the dangers, and now even he can't find a way out. For the first time in his life - or at least since the Access Hollywood tape - he's facing real consequences. His critics might enjoy a bit of schadenfreude, if the costs weren't so terrible: dead American troops, dead Iranian civilians, a damaged global economy, and eroded alliances. Trump may be uncomfortable, but the rest of the world will be miserable.