Even as the US-Israel's Iran war hurtles along – haltingly or otherwise, with intermittent prospects of peace – some lessons have already gained permanence. Wars can often be ended early. They rarely are. Quitting is mistaken for losing. And so conflict persists – driven by hubris, false bravado and misplaced ego. Till Pakistan, acting as the elder, stepped into the ongoing Iran war. The first lesson, therefore, is simple: wars are not your back-alley scuffles or weekend jaunts. They are too serious a business to be left to juvenile instincts or political impulse. Generals and professionals must be heard. It isn't too far back when a general in India told his prime minister that he would not go to war at the time the prime minister thought was ripe; he needed nine months to prepare his forces to begin an offensive against an enemy that was outnumbered, strategically wrong-footed and logistically disconnected from his base. The general was right. When he finally launched nine months later, he won his prime minister a new country. Listen to your generals.

Next. Tactical and operational brilliance can never make up for strategic misconception. Guns, planes and rockets are not a playtime arsenal; these reflect decades of hard work and investment in resources. When the real stuff rains down, people lose their lives and families their hearth and homes. It is blood and treasure, not banter and playfulness. But that only adults in the room will know. If there are no adults, the blood and the resource, and the pain inflicts relentlessly. Lesson two: always have an adult in the room, be clear why you want to expend resources and lives, and know when to........

© The Express Tribune