Operation Epic Fury: ‘Tell me how this ends.’

In the early days of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, then Major-General David Petraeus said, “tell me how this ends.” At the time, no one really knew.

The first American withdrawal took place in 2011. The second, after American forces returned to fight the Islamic State terrorist faction, took place in 2021.

The third only is taking place this year.

Just as no one could really answer Petraeus’ question, no one can predict just how the war with Iran will go on. President Trump has stated that the war could continue for four or five weeks but “could go longer.” How long will very much depend on the resilience of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Yet even when the bombing stops, there is no clear scenario as to what might follow. There are at least half a dozen possible outcomes of this latest iteration of America and Israel’s war with Iran.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts reportedly elected Ayatollah Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, to replace his father at the helm of the Islamic Republic. Mojtaba Khamenei has close ties to and was the preferred candidate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that his father effectively led. Like his father — perhaps even more so — he is reputed to be a hard-liner.

President Trump disapproves of this choice, if it is in fact real. Yet were Mojtaba to assume power, it is not at all clear whether he would continue to pursue his father’s policies — especially his level of hostility toward the U.S. and Israel. It is not merely a question of whether he might fear for his life, as his father........

© The Hill