Someone please tell America how this ends

During the second Iraq War, General David Petraeus famously asked in his book: “Tell Me How This Ends.” No question could be more relevant to Operation Epic Fury and the ill-advised and potentially disastrous undeclared war against Iran.

Since the Korean War, no administration other than George H.W. Bush’s learned the lesson that while the U.S. military was proficient at winning battles, the U.S. was incapable of winning wars. The first Iraq War and operations Desert Shield and Storm were textbook examples of how to respond to armed aggression. And those who criticized the first President Bush for not marching to Baghdad in 1991 found out how catastrophic that would have been when his son, President George W. Bush, did precisely that.

At some stage, someone will write the definitive story of how this misguided and misjudged misapplication of American blood and treasure occurred. Perhaps President Trump believed that, after last year’s 12-day war and this year’s snatch of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, that U.S. military power was unlimited in what it could accomplish, or if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinced the commander in chief that Iran would be a walkover, ultimately the public will be informed.  

The question remains: What next?

Negotiations and sporadic ceasefires are now the battles being fought. “Jaw, jaw and not war war,” as Churchill wisely observed, is of course preferably.  But how long can this go on without some resolution?  After all, no matter how capable the........

© The Hill