Iran war reveals America’s weaknesses | Letter
President Trump’s war in Iran has evolved into a Hobson’s choice: there is no good way to end this war and continuing it will be a disaster. Trump can only blame himself, though he will probably throw his entire cabinet under the bus before this fiasco is over.
Trump’s biggest hurdle is overcoming Iran’s asymmetric advantage. The advantage is best understood by comparing Iran’s $50,000 attack drones with the U.S. $4 million Patriot defensive missiles. Iran can replace the cheap missiles quickly; it takes years to replace Patriot missiles. Understanding this discrepancy helps explain why American soldiers in Jordan may not be properly defended. It also helps us understand why Iran can outlast us.
Defeating Iran would require a large ground war that would be costly in lives and in other resources, and it would leave other hot spots unprotected. What if Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Germany while we are preoccupied with Iran?
Trump was properly warned. The U.S. military understands the lessons learned in Ukraine — that well-targeted drones make a difference when the enemy can’t defend everything. Trump ignored the advice and attacked anyway. Now that he has put himself into a corner, it doesn’t matter whether he has learned from his mistake.
Until the biggest military in the world can fully implement modern drone warfare, it will need to recognize the real limitations to its power and be less aggressive. Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag.
Peter Konieczko
Scarborough
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Tagged: letter to the editor
