A foolish mistake

We marched an army into Afghanistan after 9-11. Fought a limited war for 20 years. Walked away.

We marched soldiers into Iraq. Fought another limited war. Walked away.

That’s human nature at work – mistakes in our bones, stumbling, we tell ourselves winning will be easy. Until pain rears its head. And ‘easy’ flies out the window.

Sitting squarely between Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran’s bigger than both, more powerful than both. But when an old temptation whispered, telling himself winning would be easy, President Trump started a war. Then pain reared its head.

The mullahs put him in a vice. Closed the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices shot up. And Americans, glaring at Trump, blamed him.

And history’s repeating itself in front of our eyes: Trump wants to declare victory. And walk away.

So where does that leave us?

The mullahs, like Taliban, stay in power.

But the bigger question is what temptations whisper to our two most powerful enemies – China and Russia – when we lose a war?

No one can read tea leaves, see around the bend into the future, but we wake up each morning in a world where foolish mistakes come with a price.