Trump’s Iran Operation Is the Opposite of a ‘One and Done’ |
For more than 45 years, U.S. presidents have wanted to destroy the radical, anti-American regime in Tehran. They always concluded that the risks of war were too great - until President Donald Trump’s all-out attack with Israel early Saturday.
Trump said Saturday that the massive airstrikes had killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Few outside Iran will mourn the demise of a man who spent his career shouting: “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” And by this limited definition, Trump’s decapitation strategy may have worked. But killing Khamenei, who was aging and infirm, isn’t the same thing as regime change. If there’s a plan for what’s next, I haven’t heard any U.S. or Israeli official explain it.
For more than 45 years, U.S. presidents have wanted to destroy the radical, anti-American regime in Tehran. They always concluded that the risks of war were too great – until President Donald Trump’s all-out attack with Israel early Saturday.
Trump said Saturday that the massive airstrikes had killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Few outside Iran will mourn the demise of a man who spent his career shouting: “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” And by this limited definition, Trump’s decapitation strategy may have worked. But killing Khamenei, who was aging and infirm, isn’t the same thing as regime change. If there’s a plan for what’s next, I haven’t heard any U.S. or Israeli official explain it.
Wars always are easier to start than to finish, especially when you’ve set a political goal of regime change, rather than a clearly defined military objective. President Vladimir Putin thought he would take Kyiv in a week. Israel thought it would throttle Hamas in a few months. But wars to erase a regime don’t work like that.
Once a president launches a war, he feels obligated to finish it successfully. “If you’re in it, win it,” the generals like to say. That’s especially true in this case,........