The Middle East Power Paradox: How the Iran War Will Transform America’s Military Role

Throughout the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Washington has relished the display of its conventional military superiority. President Donald Trump’s administration has boasted of its quantitative achievements: before the April 8 cease-fire, the United States alone flew more than 10,000 air sorties, hit over 130,000 targets, and intercepted 1,700 Iranian missiles and drones. According to U.S. Central Command, the campaign demolished more than 85 percent of the facilities that Tehran used to produce missiles and drones, sank the majority of Iran’s naval vessels, and eliminated 70 percent of its missile launch infrastructure. But degrading Iran’s military capabilities was not the broad strategic goal Trump laid out in the early days of Operation Epic Fury. And Washington’s tactical successes could not make up for its strategic missteps...

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