Posted on 07/14/2026 5:04:35 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say
President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz by resuming strikes and reimposing the blockade is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war.
Trump has tried air and missile attacks, a naval quarantine and now the calibrated use of firepower to try to coerce Tehran to agree to his terms, in addition to diplomatic inducements.
But Iran has exploited its proximity to a major oil export route to defy Washington and joust for influence across the Middle East.
A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say, as each side is calculating that it can win the long game in a test of wills that may haunt the rest of Trump’s presidency, including through the midterm elections in November.
“We are now locked in a coercive war of attrition. Both sides are trying to push the other past some unknowable pain threshold,” said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analyst. “Coercive wars can go on and on.”
As the fighting continues, the course of the war will be shaped by Iran’s attempts to reconstitute its missile force and air defenses and by the U.S. ability to continue to strike targets, making the most of its declining weapons inventories.
“We are in another phase of the war,” said Vali Nasr, professor at Johns Hopkins University and a scholar on Iran. “This is really a fight over leverage. It is not a fight over the regime.”
“Ultimately the U.S. cannot get Iran to give up its nuclear program or accept the American terms for ending the war as long as...”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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The WSJ is a commie rag and has been for years.
“said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analyst.”
“Advocacy of Iraq invasion
In his second book, The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq (pub. 2002), Pollack details the history of United States actions against Iraq since the Persian Gulf War of 1991. He says that the United States should invade Iraq, and describes ways of going about it. Pollack argued that Saddam Hussein was simply too volatile and aggressive in his policies to be trusted not to begin another conflict in a volatile region. In The Threatening Storm, Pollack argued “the only prudent and realistic course of action left to the United States is to mount a full-scale invasion of Iraq to smash the Iraqi armed forces, depose Saddam’s regime, and rid the country of weapons of mass destruction.” Pollack predicted, “It is unimaginable that the United States would have to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars and highly unlikely that we would have to contribute even tens of billions of dollars.” Likewise, he wrote, “we should not exaggerate the danger of casualties among American troops. U.S. forces in Bosnia have not suffered a single casualty from hostile action because they have become so attentive and skillful at force protection.”
Sounds like someone you would go to for sound advice....
“A stable peace appears elusive”
A stable peace is not possible.
We’ve been at war with these pukes for 50 years. Now is the time to flatten them economically.
That won’t stop them for being evil, but it slow their roll a bit.
On my Facebook memories today, there was this tongue-in-cheek post that I did eleven years ago:
An agreement has been reached between the U.S. and Iran with regard to Iran’s nuclear program. In an effort to reconcile America’s determination for Iran not to be able to produce nuclear weapons with Iran’s determination not to have their national sovereignty options limited, John Kerry and the Obama administration have worked out an agreement in which we have agreed to bomb ourselves.
If you don’t have the stomach for kill them all and let God sort it out then STFU and live with this.
FINISH THEM OLD TESTAMENT LEVEL!
The IRGC may be trying to fight until the mid-terms in the US, hoping that the Democrats win and don't have the heart to continue fighting.
Or the IRGC may be fighting until the global economy breaks.
Or maybe the IRGC just plan to fight until they're all dead.
Regardless, the longer the conflict goes the worse it gets.
Kenneth Pollack is an idiot.
yep
Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analystHmm. From the wiki entry:
In 2024 its largest contributors were the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar, in addition to other Gulf countries and fossil fuel and military companies.
Roger that.
We have a limited number of Patriot and Tomahawk missiles left while Iran is still manufacturing missiles and drones in their undergrounds bunkers. They have the ability to outlast us in this and they know it. Trump is looking at a worldwide economic catastrophe if he continues with this war. Trump needs to recognize the reality of the situation here and just end this thing before things get any worse.
Bye bye Kharg Island then.
Including the estimated 70-88% of Iranians who oppose the regime, at least 36,000 of whom were murdered during the 2026 protests?
Just start slicing territories away till Iran can't even bite your knee caps anymore.
“We have a limited number of Patriot and Tomahawk missiles left while Iran is still manufacturing missiles and drones in their undergrounds bunkers. They have the ability to outlast us in this and they know it. Trump is looking at a worldwide economic catastrophe if he continues with this war. Trump needs to recognize the reality of the situation here and just end this thing before things get any worse.”
The Chinese navy has the power to safeguard tanker shipments.
The Israelis have the power to knock out Iran’s refineries.
Without bridges and power plants, it sure would be hard for them to block ship traffic.
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