The Iran War Is a Whole New Level of Quagmire for the US

President Donald Trump declared that the United States would take control of the Strait of Hormuz after defeating Iran, revealing his frustration and inability to withdraw from the situation. Military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz believed that war is a continuation of politics by other means, meaning military action is merely a tool to achieve a rational political goal.

Applying this to the Iran situation, a conclusion is drawn that US inability to gain traction in Iran stems from a fundamental policy failure, where political objectives did not align with the military strategies employed. The misjudgment of Iran's strength and the interests of various stakeholders, such as defense contractors, banks, corporations, and insurance firms, contributed to the failure.

Furthermore, Washington failed to capitalize on its extensive military history, learning from past mistakes like carpet bombing in Europe during World War 2, which did not demoralize the Germans but instead intensified their resistance, turning the conflict into a costly war of attrition. The US also erred by executing massive air campaigns against Iran at the beginning of the war.

Like Germany in WW2, Iran's defense and war production facilities are dispersed across its rugged geography, making them difficult to target through surface bombing. The conflict is further complicated by the involvement of multiple stakeholders, each with distinct strategic narratives. The crisis is no longer a straightforward binary conflict with a clear winner and loser.

Clausewitz's contemporary military strategist, Captain Emile Simpson, emphasized in his 2012 book "War from the Ground Up: Twenty-First Century Combat as Politics" that today's war is not between two states, as in Clausewitz's time. The line between combat and politics is blurred by more powerful forces seeking to control the outcome of the war.

The dilution of command authority due to diverse interests has led to US combat ineffectiveness in Iran.