What if we stopped our action in Iran right now. What if we just pulled everyone and everything from the fight and left it as-is. What would we leave?
Here is an excellent answer, from John Hinderaker, writing for powerlineblog.com:
Our military campaign against Iran has been a great success, whether or not it leads to the downfall of the mullahs’ regime. We have badly degraded Iran’s ability to threaten us or our allies, and some changes will be permanent. Thus, for example, (click here to see the reference).
Iran’s only effective response to our bombardment has been its disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, but its ability to damage the world economy in that way will be gone forever if a new pipeline is built that runs from the Gulf states to the Mediterranean, terminating in…Israel. Moreover, expanded economic cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states is another nail in the coffin of Palestinian Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Lots of good outcomes here, as with our virtually bloodless intervention in Venezuela.
Our action in Iran has been a sterling success. Not just for the United States, but for the rest of the world – even the countries that should have been our partners in taking out Iran’s offensive capabilities (not to mention most of their “leadership”), but decided to back off so we would do all the work and expend all the costs of war, both human and material.
Iran’s war making capabilities, and its ability to fund terrorist groups like hezbollah and the houthis, is in shambles. And because of Iran’s attacks on other mideast countries, Israel, far from being destroyed, is able to engage with those countries (most notably Saudi Arabia) and possibly create alliances that would have been unthinkable just months ago.
Now, if Trump & Co. can finish it off with a “deal” of some kind that actually means something (unlike the Obama “deal” which accomplished nothing other than strengthening Iran’s murderous mullahs and creating the conditions our current action is rectifying), it will be a near-miracle.
Let’s hope he can pull it off.
