There are lingering questions about the war President Donald Trump ignited in Iran. But as things stand today, Iran鈥檚 brutal regime can celebrate a victory.
We were ready to give reluctant support to U.S. intervention in Iran. The mullahs and the military that props them up have spent the last 50 years sowing terror and working to fulfill their nuclear ambitions.
That would be a nightmare for the world, and we hoped the attacks would end the nation鈥檚 ability to pursue nuclear arms and lead to regime change that the Iranian people desperately want.
But the way Trump went about it, without a clear strategy and no congressional approval, was folly from the start and has only gotten worse.
Today, Iran retains its nuclear material; the regime is more entrenched. It maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz, the Republican Guard continues to launch attacks and the most powerful military in the world has been rebuffed.
The president can tout the destruction of Iran鈥檚 weak navy and the diminishment of its missile capacity, but those are Pyrrhic wins.
Meanwhile, Trump鈥檚 endless barrage of threats and promises of a final deal demonstrate a feckless leader so easily pushed and pulled by the Iranian regime that it would be laughable if it weren鈥檛 so dangerous.
Trump bluffed with how far he would go to replace the mullahs. The mullahs called that bluff and are firmly in control of the country and the world鈥檚 most critical energy passage. They have increased Iran鈥檚 already harsh persecution of Christians, according to an analysis by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. They have refused to stop backing terrorists like Hezbollah.
We were fearful when Trump launched this war that he had no strategy to finish it. That was true. He appears to have believed that air and naval power alone could subdue the regime enough that Iranians would rise up. That was never going to happen. We can鈥檛 say whether Trump was poorly advised or just did what he so often does: follow his own whims into failure and then call it success.
Serious leaders understand that the decision to go to war has severe consequences, whatever the outcome. The fact that U.S. loss of life has been minimal does not mean the consequences here are not severe. They are.
The U.S. has lost face as an international power. Iran has demonstrated it can face heavy attacks without any threat to the stability of those who rule. It has shown that its succession planning after the elimination of senior leadership was successful and sustainable.
Trump persistently demonstrates that, when it comes to foreign intervention, he can鈥檛 meet the moments he creates himself.
Cuba is starving. Venezuela鈥檚 corrupt regime is failing to help its earthquake-battered people. Iran鈥檚 mullahs are victorious.
This isn鈥檛 winning.
