After both of our previous attempts failed largely because Iran has proven completely unable to stop firing missiles for no seemingly sane reason, it appears to be a good time to reconsider our options. Before we begin, I should come clean: Throughout the conflict with Iran I have consistently advocated to make an even less… Continue reading Iran: Do we need or want a deal at this point?
Tag: afghanistan
The Iran deal isn’t perfect, but its detractors have no plan and there’s an old expression that something’s better than nothing
Is the Memorandum of Understanding a staggering defeat as the critics suggest or a less than ideal path forward for a conflict that has been simmering for almost 50 years? To hear detractors tell it, President Donald Trump’s Memorandum of Understanding with Iran is nothing short of a humiliating defeat, an appeasement of if not… Continue reading The Iran deal isn’t perfect, but its detractors have no plan and there’s an old expression that something’s better than nothing
Iran and the sunk cost fallacy
Why are some unwilling to take half-a-loaf by forging a less than satisfying deal or even reverting to the status quo, making not getting the optimal outcome into an embarrassing defeat? While the conflict with Iran lumbers onward through an admittedly bizarre non-ceasefire ceasefire, some are arguing that we have only two options: Either accept… Continue reading Iran and the sunk cost fallacy
The choice facing Iran, and the reality that most of us aren’t all hawk or all dove all the time
From where the average American sits, the choice facing the leaders of Iran seems like no choice at all, but after Saturday’s peace negotiations failed to produce a deal, it clearly is to the remnants of the regime and no one really knows what they will choose, however much they may bloviate otherwise. Throughout the… Continue reading The choice facing Iran, and the reality that most of us aren’t all hawk or all dove all the time
NATO just turned 77, but is it going down in the Strait of Hormuz?
As France joins forces with Russia and China at the United Nations, and makes a deal with Iran, supporters of the NATO alliance argue that it is a purely defensive affair. In that case, what purpose does it serve in the modern world? In one of the ironies that seem to increasingly define the modern… Continue reading NATO just turned 77, but is it going down in the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran: A crucial lesson from Lord of the Rings
Given the choice between pursuing wholesale regime change or making a deal that can be improved in the future, I’d take my chances with the deal and hope that like Sauron in Lord of the Rings, Iran’s evil can be diminished such that it will never rise again even if it can’t be destroyed. “For… Continue reading Iran: A crucial lesson from Lord of the Rings
Iran: As Trump switches into deal making mode, did everyone forget that we’ve been at war for more than three weeks?
Last week, they claimed killing any enemy’s leadership only prolongs a war. On Monday, they claimed the President lied about engaging in talks with Iran. On Tuesday, they insisted we should not have talks at all, pretending Iran is the same now as it was before the war. On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that… Continue reading Iran: As Trump switches into deal making mode, did everyone forget that we’ve been at war for more than three weeks?
No, killing your enemy’s leadership isn’t a sure fire way to lose a war whatever the experts claim
The legendary General George S. Patton once quipped, “No dumb bastard ever won a war by going out and dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country,” but the experts have suddenly decided otherwise based on at least two false assumptions. On Tuesday, Israel reported that… Continue reading No, killing your enemy’s leadership isn’t a sure fire way to lose a war whatever the experts claim
Iran: Call it regime change, unconditional surrender, or whatever you like so long as whoever’s in charge at the end agrees to a few key things
While we do not yet know what sort of government will emerge in Iran, the President is adopting a policy much closer to the success of World War II’s unconditional surrender than the failure of the Iraq War’s regime change. Last week, President Donald Trump demanded nothing less than unconditional surrender from Iran to end… Continue reading Iran: Call it regime change, unconditional surrender, or whatever you like so long as whoever’s in charge at the end agrees to a few key things
When, exactly, was politics normal like the Democrats claim?
Democrats plan to counter Trump’s State of the Union by claiming these aren’t normal times. Me? I’ve got a few questions about the past three decades the American people have been forced to suffer through and I would like their opinion on whether any of it was normal. Tomorrow evening, some leading Democrats are planning… Continue reading When, exactly, was politics normal like the Democrats claim?









