Posted on 03/31/2026 6:35:36 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Military victories are decided on the battlefield—but in modern America, they are too often lost in the politics that follow.
The rare quick and total victory over an enemy at little cost often ensures unquestioned political support in modern consensual societies.
In most cases, however, especially in the Western world, ongoing military success or failure is adjudicated through the lens of politics—in a way sometimes at odds with the reality of the battlefield.
Politicians answer to the people. The best do not drift with the prevailing winds. On the other hand, all must face elections, secure legislative support, and ultimately explain to voters the human and financial costs of a war and whether it was existential or optional—and, in the latter case, whether it was worth the costs.
By any purely military standard, in the current month-long war, Iran has been devastated by the combined air forces of the U.S. and Israel. Both nations achieved air supremacy early on. Iran has no air force or air defenses left. Its major warships are sunk. It has lost the ability to supply its terroristic appendages by air or sea. It has difficulty importing weapons from abroad. The Iranian military and the theocratic chain of command have been devastated. Iran’s population is restive, held in check only by the sheer level of murder carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on a regular basis.
So far, the U.S. military has suffered 13 fatalities and perhaps 300 wounded. Every life is dear. But given the horrific costs of prior fighting in the Middle East, the military has, in amazing fashion, curbed American losses.
If the war lasts the predicted six to eight weeks, it will likely cost between $40 and $50 billion in direct expenditures, a substantial but not excessive amount as conflicts go.
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
“What constitutes an imminent threat?”
Your guess is as good as mine.
The Administration has repeatedly indicated that something specifically alerted them to an imminent threat. Let them share it.
Thanks for your timely response.
Nice try. Try again.
I’ve got nothing to try.
I didn’t make the call.
President Trump and his advisors did.
But when our national interests dovetail—no terrorist entity has killed more Americans in the last half-century than has Iran—then we are proud and lucky to partner with Israel, a democracy and free society with a formidable record of military competency and a larger air force than any of our NATO partners—including Turkey, France, the UK, and Germany.
FR Index of his articles: Victor Davis Hanson on FR
Town Hall: Victor Davis Hanson on Town Hall
American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness
His website: Victor Davis Hanson The Sword of Perseus
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Our supply of bombs is very high. We need to pulverize all suspicious sites within 10 miles of Hormuz. Shoreline n islands. One toughy will be a populated 200,000 island near Hormuz.
blah blah blah libertarian broken record
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