Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“The problem in Iran is not that the military has failed to destroy things. It is that destruction is not the same as control. Wars must be judged by the political conditions they produce, not simply by the targets they hit. The Iranian regime still holds its core position. It is still imposing costs and shaping the terms under which other nations, including the U.S., must operate. Tactical violence has not produced durable strategic effect. The administration’s justifications have shifted repeatedly, and its claims of victory have grown more theatrical as the war’s practical results have grown less convincing. … The president launched this war in the name of defending America from imminent threats. He is now applauding limited relief from a coercive order the war itself helped create. What began as a show of force is now a search for smaller and smaller signs of progress.” (04/07/26)