Opinion

Winning the battles, losing the war? America must define the endgame in Iran

The men and women executing this campaign deserve a strategy as disciplined as their service

By Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, (ret.) Fox News

Published March 18, 2026 9:00am EDT

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The Pentagon's briefings on Operation Epic Fury leave no room for debate: the U.S.-Israeli air campaign has hammered Iran. War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed more than 15,000 targets were struck. Tehran's air defenses are in ruins. Its navy is wrecked. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine reported Iran's ballistic missile launches against Israel and Gulf partners are down 90% since the first day of the war. By every battlefield measure, this campaign has delivered a punishing blow to the regime.

But wars are not won on target lists. They are won when military force produces a durable political outcome. More than two weeks into this campaign, that outcome remains undefined. That is the problem.

Consider the economic fallout. The Strait of Hormuz — the choke point through which roughly one-fifth of the world's daily oil supply moves — is effectively closed. Tanker traffic has stopped. Oil has blown past $100 a barrel, with Brent crude touching $119 before Iran's new supreme leader doubled down on keeping the strait shut. The International Energy Agency called it the largest oil supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. That is not a rounding error. That is inflation,........

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