By all traditional methodology and criteria, Iran is now inert:
naval and air forces eviscerated
missile defenses offline, and
an army rendered largely useless, as no one is fighting on the ground.
However, tactical success is not necessarily equivalent to strategic victory.
It is hard to think of a single battle lost in Iraq or Afghanistan, yet the United States lacked a plan for strategic resolution in either theater.
With this in mind, Iran’s current strategy is as follows:
The mullahs can afford to lose their military because, ultimately, without U.S. troops on the ground, the regime will remain intact.
This, and many other factors, begs the question:
Where does Trump go from here? asks Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”
“In other words, they're saying as long as we have oil, Kharg Island, and as long as we have these huge oil fields, when you get tired of pounding us into rubble, you're going go back to the United States.
“Israel's going go back and be quiet, and we're going get all of our oil revenues and we're going have them.
“And we are going to buy from Russia, North Korea and China missiles, drones, recreate our own drone industry, and we probably have enough fissile material that you didn't get, and nobody could get. It's hidden deep in the mountains, that we will make bombs.
“And this time we're going to use them because we understand what you will do next time.”
