Washington Is Still Chasing the Perfect War

Two months into Operation Epic Fury, few of its loudest cheerleaders have been asked to account for either this war or the past failures that they so loudly pushed for. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has told reporters that toppling the Iranian regime will enable Washington to “make a ton of money” off Iranian oil reserves, also supported the disastrous Iraq war and has never grappled honestly with its outcomes.

Bret Stephens, who has said he does not regret supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq, now counsels the Trump administration to seize Kharg Island, an operation that would likely result in significant U.S. deaths without a clear strategic benefit. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which loudly endorsed the 2003 invasion, now applauds President Donald Trump for “standing firm” in a war that clearly isn’t succeeding. Think tanks such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Vandenberg Coalition (chaired by Iraq War architect Elliott Abrams), Jewish Institute for National Security of America, and some prominent fellows at the Hudson Institute have rejected all forms of diplomacy, including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and prescribed policies that have led to this war without a cause.

But the continued tolerance of warmongers even after failure upon failure is just one manifestation of a wider problem. The United States’ leaders are still chasing the fantasy of a perfect war—one in which Washington’s technological and logistical might leads to a clear, swift victory. It’s a misconception rooted in what U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal called the “three great seductions” of modern warfare: covert action, surgical special operations raids, and airpower. Together, they sustain the illusion that war can be precise and controlled.

The hope cuts across ideological lines. It leads neoconservatives to assume that societies can be remade through force, or that airstrikes and assassinations in Iran will spark a popular uprising. It is why some diaspora communities have called for maximal force against regimes but wince when civilians, maybe even their own family members, are inevitably killed.