The end of a dictator like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a good thing and freedom for Iranians is an admirable goal. But as U.S. regime wars in the Middle East since 9/11 have shown, removing leaders is one thing, while strategic successes are quite another. The longer the strikes continue, the greater the chances that more U.S. troops will die and the United States will be dragged into a bigger war.
The Trump administration has offered handfuls of reasons for launching the strikes, but none that is vital to U.S. national security. There is no intelligence showing Iran is anywhere close to developing missiles that can hit the United States. Iran’s nuclear program has been “obliterated,” according to President Trump, and regardless is not a direct threat to the United States. The U.S. doesn’t depend on oil from Iran or the Middle East.
Trump needs to take the victory of killing Khamenei and wind down military force against Iran. The American experience in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan have shown that taking out leaders is the easy part; it’s what follows that turns into a disaster.
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