In 1974, I was a young U.S.Army lieutenant serving under then-Lieutenant Colonel Colin Powell, who commanded my battalion, the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry, in South Korea.
Years later, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell became associated with a doctrine that warned America should not commit military force without a clear political objective, sufficient force, public support and a defined way out.Half a century on, that standard, more than any weapon system, is what has been missing from Washington's approach to Iran.That reality is again being tested in the war with Iran.
The ceasefire that ended the spring war was supposed to create space for diplomacy.Instead, American forces are again striking Iranian targets, Iran is again threatening commercial shipping and the Strait of Hormuz is again the world's most dangerous chokepoint.TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE IS 'OVER' AFTER IRANIAN ATTACKS TRIGGER MASSIVE US RESPONSENone of that means President Donald Trump was wrong to hit back.
No American president can allow Iran to attack commercial vessels, threaten global energy flows or test U.S.resolve without consequence.
CENTCOM’s public releases confirm the pattern: after Iranian forces struck commercial vessels in Hormuz, U.S.forces struck back at Iranian air defense systems, coastal radar and naval assets to degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping.But retaliation is not strategy.
The United States is back where it was before the memorandum of understanding took effect: Iran tests Hormuz, America strikes back, Tehran absorbs the punishment and the nuclear question remains unresolved.Thousands of mourners await the arrival of the body of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9, 2026, in Mashhad, Iran.(John Moore/Getty Images)On July 10, the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization called on member states to reject Iran’s attempt to assert unilateral control over transit through the strait, condemning the move as a viol...