Given the U.S. experiences with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans should have humility when it comes to foreign endeavors. So I don’t think we should be sanguine about the potential for things to go seriously wrong with the joint U.S.-Israeli actions against Iran.
That said, there is also a danger in assuming that the war against Iran is just going to be like Iraq — a long drawn-out affair that costs thousands of American lives and from which it is difficult to extract ourselves.
One obvious factor is that President Trump won’t authorize a major land advance. Perhaps we’ll see some limited commando-raids. But we aren’t going to be doing a full-scale ground invasion. All indications are that it is going to be over within a few weeks.
But beyond that, there is another factor that we won’t have to worry about — and that’s Iran.
Iran played a major role in turning our occupation of Iraq into a deadly quagmire — by spending billions of dollars to fund militias and insurgents, and through roadside bombings by its proxies.
If Iran is crippled, that is not a factor we would have to worry about.
To be clear, I’m not saying it is going to be smooth sailing and the current operation is risk free, just that we shouldn’t make the opposite mistake and assume it will be just like Iraq.