Politicians worry about the optics of war. Wake up, Bozo...war is messy and the more you play into the hands of public opinion, the more you drag out the war and cost lives on BOTH sides. Where would we be if Truman hadn't had the balls to drop those two bombs on Japan? We still be fighting door-to-door in Tokyo.
I say give the ROE back to the people who know how to WIN wars and screw the optics. We have the capability to put the Houthies back in the Stone Age if we really wanted to win the war, but then a lot of companies to contribute to politicians' reelection fund would be harmed. If I were in charge of the IDF, Gaza wouldn't be a suitable parking lot by now, BUT...the war would be over.
Drawing out wars by letting politicians set the ROE is simply causing more people to die in the long run, not to mention draining the resources of the combatants.
The media bears a LOT of responsibility in how politicians direct war. I agree, the ROE should be left up to the commanders.
You’ve described the problem but still missed it. We engage in military operations to enforce our foreign policy objectives…thus we fight “wars” without actually declaring war.
I think the same thing happened to coalition forces in Afghanistan. Too restrictive and too many ROEs.