Some wars are lost on the battlefield. Others are lost before they even begin. The current conflict with Iran belongs to the latter. Not because of weak soldiers or inferior technology, but because of a deeper failure: leadership, language, and the ability to read reality. These are not separate problems. They reinforce one another, forming a closed loop that makes decisive victory impossible.

The first failure is one of leadership. Leadership is not measured by declarations, but by the ability to define clear objectives and align them with the constraints of reality. This is true in times of peace, and even more so in war. When Winston Churchill ordered the destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir to prevent it from falling into Nazi hands, he demonstrated a sober understanding of what total war demands: the willingness to make tragic, irreversible decisions. That was resolve – not in tone or personality, but in the alignment of ends, means, and reality.

Today, that alignment is missing. Resolve exists mainly at the level of rhetoric. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu speak of dismantling the Iranian regime, yet refrain from using the full range of means such a goal would require. Allowing the continued sale of Iranian oil is not a subtle tactical move; it is a basic strategic contradiction. One cannot wage war while........

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