We want everything in the millisecond to which we have become accustomed. Some things, like Orson Welles’ wine, take time.

After the fact, we all are geniuses. Whether it be the Monday Morning Quarterback or the armchair military expert, we all know the right thing to do after the fact. One thing that really puzzled me back in the day was why Saddam Hussein let George H. W. Bush put together his coalition in Saudi Arabia over the course of five months. Operation Desert Shield started in August of 1990, and Operation Desert Storm sprang into action in the middle of January the following year. I watched ships and planes bring endless numbers of troops while air forces from countries throughout the world sent their best to the desert to prepare for the attack on Iraq. Just as the British and French missed an opportunity to attack western Germany while Hitler was busy in Poland, Saddam did not make much effort to interrupt the flow of men and material into the Saudi theater. When the air war started, his highly sophisticated air defenses were neutralized, and General Schwarzkopf’s ground forces did the rest.

With the above in mind, one might want to be a little patient as to any potential attack on Iran. I don’t know if there will be one, but the IDF’s chief of staff commented recently from Washington that he expects an attack between two weeks and two months forward. Kind of hedging his bets, I guess. If the president has decided to attack, he has chosen to do it right, even if it means not alleviating the suffering of the Iranian people. Military actions are remembered for their success or failure and not for the specific date they started or how long the winning side took to get its forces in order. Doing it right is what is written in history books and on tombstones. If the U.S. needs a hundred aerial tankers and 300 Tomahawks near Iran, then you wait until you have the same before you go.

One boat........

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