Excellent article. You nailed all the points I believe will lead to a good outcome. Experts have their place as advisors, not as the final say. I would even argue that being an "expert" in an area makes one more biased than the layperson, and I look forward to more of your opinions on foreign policy.
My apologies for not having engaged with you content in awhile, Adam. This is a good article that concisely and plainly explains how President Trump can win-or lose-the war in Iran. Let’s make something clear here, the Islamic Republic is extremely dangerous. They are a pariah state in the Middle East. They are enriching uranium to try and someday build a nuclear bomb. They’ve got a ballistic missile program. Iran are the number one funders of terrorism on Earth. They have a brutal gender apartheid. They slaughtered thousands of their own people just for peacefully protesting and that’s just for starters! The United States and Israel had to act now when they were at their weakest to weaken them even further and diminish their capacity to threaten Israel, the Gulf States, the Kurds, the West, and the United States itself.
So far, we are in the driver’s seat and are winning. President Trump was luckily able to indefinitely extend the ceasefire between the two sides. He’s got to stick to his guns, stay the course and ignore the corrupt, lying and partisan media. However, he can lose both the war and public support if he makes the same mistake that George W. Bush made after 9/11. Americans are understandably overwhelmingly against forever wars, America acting as global policemen and nation-building. If he and Bibi do a full-on invasion of Iran, occupy it for 20 years and try to force political and cultural change on Iran, the war will become a quagmire, thousands of American and Israeli troops will die and Trump will lose public support and the war. Instead of Iran being free, what we will instead get is a bloody civil war that will destabilize the whole region like in Iraq. Meanwhile, Trump’s presidency will be torpedoed and his legacy in tatters.
President Trump has performed brilliantly in the White House for the most part. Especially when it comes to foreign policy. The 47th President has negotiated eight peace treaties, captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, revived and modernized the Monroe Doctrine, got the NATO membership to agree to raise defense spending, isolated Russia, got Panama to leave the Belt Road Initiative, blocked the sale of the strategically important Chagos Islands, and is negotiating for Greenland as we speak. If he mismanages the war with Iran, the consequences will be severe.
Great start to your new career as a commentator on foreign and military affairs, hahaha! Seriously, super job. You kept the focus on one simple principle and I think you’re right…no troops on the ground. Of course rescuing pilots and other narrowly tailored ground missions are probably ok with most people, but no long occupation or making Iran a democracy. That’s up to the Iranian people. I think you’re entirely right in your assessment. Hopefully the President will continue to pursue such a course of action as you described. I think your comments generally reflect the views of most Americans. Great job.
Reading a story about farmers refusing to sell their land for data centers. I appreciate their integrity. I fear 'eminent domain' will come for their property. Considering you come from the tech space, how about a drop on weighing the needs of AI and respecting/preserving private property?
I think it would be helpful to spread education on Iran and the long-standing animosity between the U.S., Israel and Iran, so here is some recommended reading for Adam’s subscribers:
* America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present by John H. Ghazvinian
* The Twilight War: The Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist
* Israel Strikes Iran: Operation Rising Lion: The 20-Year Backstory by Edwin Black
* All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer
* Persians: The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
* Rome and Persia: The Seven-Hundred Year Rivalry by Adrian Goldsworthy
* Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America’s War with Militant Islam by Mark Bowden
Considering how often the 'experts' are wrong, why shouldn't the common person give their opinion? Reading your piece, I realized it is odd that we invaded Iraq but not Iran though it had been running amok for decades funding terrorist groups. And Afghanistan? I knew history well enough that I knew that would not go well. I am a Ron Paul fan and appreciate his block's stance. But when I listened to a segment where he was surprised at how well armed the Mexican cartels were, I wondered what kind of intel he had that he was surprised.
Excellent article. You nailed all the points I believe will lead to a good outcome. Experts have their place as advisors, not as the final say. I would even argue that being an "expert" in an area makes one more biased than the layperson, and I look forward to more of your opinions on foreign policy.
Thank you
My apologies for not having engaged with you content in awhile, Adam. This is a good article that concisely and plainly explains how President Trump can win-or lose-the war in Iran. Let’s make something clear here, the Islamic Republic is extremely dangerous. They are a pariah state in the Middle East. They are enriching uranium to try and someday build a nuclear bomb. They’ve got a ballistic missile program. Iran are the number one funders of terrorism on Earth. They have a brutal gender apartheid. They slaughtered thousands of their own people just for peacefully protesting and that’s just for starters! The United States and Israel had to act now when they were at their weakest to weaken them even further and diminish their capacity to threaten Israel, the Gulf States, the Kurds, the West, and the United States itself.
So far, we are in the driver’s seat and are winning. President Trump was luckily able to indefinitely extend the ceasefire between the two sides. He’s got to stick to his guns, stay the course and ignore the corrupt, lying and partisan media. However, he can lose both the war and public support if he makes the same mistake that George W. Bush made after 9/11. Americans are understandably overwhelmingly against forever wars, America acting as global policemen and nation-building. If he and Bibi do a full-on invasion of Iran, occupy it for 20 years and try to force political and cultural change on Iran, the war will become a quagmire, thousands of American and Israeli troops will die and Trump will lose public support and the war. Instead of Iran being free, what we will instead get is a bloody civil war that will destabilize the whole region like in Iraq. Meanwhile, Trump’s presidency will be torpedoed and his legacy in tatters.
President Trump has performed brilliantly in the White House for the most part. Especially when it comes to foreign policy. The 47th President has negotiated eight peace treaties, captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, revived and modernized the Monroe Doctrine, got the NATO membership to agree to raise defense spending, isolated Russia, got Panama to leave the Belt Road Initiative, blocked the sale of the strategically important Chagos Islands, and is negotiating for Greenland as we speak. If he mismanages the war with Iran, the consequences will be severe.
Great start to your new career as a commentator on foreign and military affairs, hahaha! Seriously, super job. You kept the focus on one simple principle and I think you’re right…no troops on the ground. Of course rescuing pilots and other narrowly tailored ground missions are probably ok with most people, but no long occupation or making Iran a democracy. That’s up to the Iranian people. I think you’re entirely right in your assessment. Hopefully the President will continue to pursue such a course of action as you described. I think your comments generally reflect the views of most Americans. Great job.
Thank you. I appreciate it, John!
Reading a story about farmers refusing to sell their land for data centers. I appreciate their integrity. I fear 'eminent domain' will come for their property. Considering you come from the tech space, how about a drop on weighing the needs of AI and respecting/preserving private property?
Maybe one day I will
I think it would be helpful to spread education on Iran and the long-standing animosity between the U.S., Israel and Iran, so here is some recommended reading for Adam’s subscribers:
* America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present by John H. Ghazvinian
* The Twilight War: The Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist
* Israel Strikes Iran: Operation Rising Lion: The 20-Year Backstory by Edwin Black
* All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer
* Persians: The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
* Rome and Persia: The Seven-Hundred Year Rivalry by Adrian Goldsworthy
* Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America’s War with Militant Islam by Mark Bowden
Considering how often the 'experts' are wrong, why shouldn't the common person give their opinion? Reading your piece, I realized it is odd that we invaded Iraq but not Iran though it had been running amok for decades funding terrorist groups. And Afghanistan? I knew history well enough that I knew that would not go well. I am a Ron Paul fan and appreciate his block's stance. But when I listened to a segment where he was surprised at how well armed the Mexican cartels were, I wondered what kind of intel he had that he was surprised.