The United States should take decisive military action against Iran if the 8:00 PM deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not met. It doesn’t matter whether you like or abhor President Trump. He was right to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. He was right to launch Operation Epic Fury when Iran refused to give up its nuclear ambitions and its missile arsenal—which it has now shown great willingness to use against not only Israel but also its Arab neighbors, and not only against military targets but against civilians.
The Iranian government’s attacks on its neighbors make it very clear that it should never have been—and cannot be—allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. Nor can it be allowed the “nuclear option” of cutting off much of the world’s energy supply by closing the Strait of Hormuz. The rulers of Iran are not deterred by mutually assured destruction. They care neither for their neighbors nor their own people. They know that if they lose this war, they will be removed from power and probably killed. So no sacrifice—of anyone else or even some of their own—is too great for them to make.
I’m under no illusion that the war can end in one more night. I don’t think we can, will, or should destroy “every bridge and electric plant” in the country. That threat may in fact be a feint. The war also won’t end without further civilian casualties or damage to infrastructure that serves both civilian and military purposes. Those consequences lie at the feet of the tyrants clinging desperately to power in Iran.
I’m writing this now because there comes a time to take a stand. We end up with “forever wars” when the enemy believes the American public will force the United States to back down. We get forever wars when our leaders try to mollify the opposition by fighting with one arm tied behind our backs, or when they cling to the canard that all wars can only end by negotiation (see World War II). I’m afraid that too many of my fellow Americans—who dislike Trump and abhor the events of January 6, as I do—are opposing what needs to be done in Iran simply because it is Trump doing it.
This war can be over quickly, I believe, if we act decisively to oust or totally defang the evil that rules Iran.
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