Foreign Policy > Iran War

It is not unusual for the demands of war to exceed what was contemplated during peace.

William R. Hawkins | April 22, 2026

We can dismiss the so-called “antiwar” agitation against the U.S. war with Iran for what it always is, a desire to see America defeated because a victory would be an affront to their perverse ideological and partisan ideas. There are, however, other critics of the war who deserve attention because their motivation is to keep America strong and prepared for what they see as more important conflicts. For example, James Holmes, the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, fears that we are expending resources in a “fourth ranked theater” when we are facing a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan which will require a massive defensive effort.

Holmes’ argument that the current U.S. campaign against the Tehran regime will only produce a Pyrrhic Victory -- one that “exhausts the victor’s martial resources, bringing about eventual defeat if not downfall” is valid for King Pyrrhus of Epirus because he “confronted a foe that could replenish its strength more readily than his own host could.” Yet, it is not as applicable to President Donald Trump as it may seem. Epirus was a small state under a fanatic leader fighting against a Roman Republic building an empire that would dominate Europe for centuries. In this analogy, Iran is the modern Epirus claiming phony victories that have left it devastated.

Another frequent example, even more attractive to historians, is Athens' expedition to Sicily in 415 BC, diverting a large military force to besiege Syracuse (an ally of Sparta) when Athens was facing a more direct existential threat from Sparta itself. The problem with this analogy is that the Athenian expedition was destroyed in Sicily (after a Spartan general arrived to take command), while our Iranian expedition has won. The argument is reduced to claiming that while our warships have not been sunk, they are disarmed with empty magazines. The analogy can be taken further. Athens fought for another ten years, rebuilding its fleet and winning renewed maritime superiority at the battle of Cyzicus in 410 BC. During........

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