Trump’s air war in Iran follows the Obama and Clinton precedents

On Saturday morning, the U.S. and Israel initiated a sustained air war against Iran. The morning daylight attack enjoyed tactical and operational surprise, catching Iranian leaders in a complacent and vulnerable position that enabled a substantial erosion of their command and control and the decapitation of their military and civilian leadership.

Almost immediately, some in the West condemned the conflict. Their arguments revolved around two primary critiques: that the war was not aligned with U.S. interests and that it was not supported by a congressional resolution.

In light of those arguments, it is important to consider the context of this conflict against the two other prominent and recent air wars in modern American history.

Although there has been no Congressional resolution in support of combat operations, Iranian leaders declared a “full-fledged war” against the U.S. in December. But even this is nothing new. The Iranian regime first placed itself on a war footing against us 47 years ago at its birth, when it violated international law and the........

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