The way to avoid a war next time is to act, with restraint, now

Once again, there is a foment in world affairs. In response to a fatal attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan by an Iranian “suicide” drone, the Pentagon has responded with waves of air strikes.

But the situation has cooled. It appears that both Tehran and the United States are reluctant to trigger a larger, more direct confrontation. This is good news. It is also an opportunity to think, and act, before there is a “next time.”

Retaliation from the U.S. was a given. A failure to do so would invite more such attacks; there are just too many Americans serving abroad to fail to put Iran and its proxies on notice.

The breadth and ubiquity of America’s presence abroad is a key problem, however. The issue is so extremely simple, and obvious, that Americans keep overlooking it. Interventionism creates instability and invites attacks on Americans that the United States must then address.

Read at The Orange County Register

Author

Erik
Gartzke

Non-Resident Fellow

Defense Priorities