Reply #1: Don't fight wars you can't win. That's the lesson of Vietnam. [View All]

The reason Gulf War I was won was because it had limited objectives: clear the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait, and go home. You can't clear the Iraqis out of Iraq, however. Even less so, can we remove the population of Iran.

So, the lesson of Vietnam and Iraq is this:
don't go to war with Iran, unless you want to lose again.

I really think the Generals and intelligence chiefs have understood that quite well since the Spring of 2004. U.S. national security is better served by regime change in Washington than in Tehran -- the former objective is also far more realizable.

Thus, at that time, as the Abu Ghraib photos were released by military intelligence, the Joint Chiefs and CIA told their IG's to seek prosecution for Plamegate and the Franklin OSP-AIPAC spy cases. Call it a constitutional coup, if you will, but after that, the brass clearly is not going to start another preemptive war with Iran.