We are in dangerous territory, and world politics is like a chess match where you must anticipate the moves of your enemies, adversaries, and allies. Unfortunately, it appears we, and many around the world, have decided to play checkers instead of not realizing the grave consequences that lie ahead.

The drumbeats of war are growing louder every day, and there are many analysts and politicians, from both sides of the political aisle, that are encouraging the use of force against Iran. However, these people are unaware of what lies ahead. First, we are already breaking the economic back of Iran. We have bankrupted the Quds force and the Revolutionary Guard. We have limited their arms transfer capabilities with Hezbollah. We have isolated them in the international community showing the world the pariah that the Iranian regime is. Why not let the sanctions continue to take their course?

People need to be aware of two things with any conflict with Iran. First, any conflict with Iran can and will lead to a much wider conflict. Iran will strike back, and war will begin. For those that say that our military can destroy Iran, and we have the most powerful military in the world, I say true enough, but are you ready to do what it takes to win a war with Iran.

Are we willing to do what it takes to win

If you are going to go to war, then fight to win. For the last several decades, America’s battle plans have suffered from the Vietnam syndrome. This has led to smaller military footprints and battleplans based on how many dead soldiers will the American people accept. Another reason for these U.S. recent military struggles is not because of a deficiency in military might, or lack of bravery the troops show every single day. The reasons for these failures include the inability to know and understand the enemy.

This is no way to fight a war. In order o fight a war to win, you must utilize overwhelming force and develop S.M.A.R.T. objectives- Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and timely. This is not something that can be done through airstrikes alone. By completely overwhelming an enemy through air, land, and sea, perhaps we would be able to bring our troops home more quickly with a clear victory in hand.

Americans are not prepared for a war of this magnitude. Many “so-called” experts and even ordinary people would be horrified at the thought of sending in 400,000 ground troops. They would be even more horrified at the 30,000-40,000 soldiers that come home in coffins. While every soldiers’ life is precious, we train our soldiers to fight and die for the country. If we are not willing to do whatever it takes to win a war, the simple solution is don’t go to war. We must put in policies that are beneficial to the United States and not saddle future generations with debt and endless wars.

War with Iran has the potential to lead to World War III

The second problem the so-called “experts” aren’t paying attention to is how this can lead to World War III. Many of these people will disagree with me and say the talk of World War III is absurd but consider these are the same geniuses that created the disaster in Iraq and have allowed the fighting to rage on in Afghanistan for 18 years.

The battle lines are being drawn. When war breaks out with Iran, it will not be limited to Iran because the allied powers- The United States, Britain, France, Israel, and Saudi Arabia- will quickly include Syria as Syria serves as a proxy to Iran. Also, Russia, China, and North Korea would provide arms, support, and money to the Iranian regime.

As America is distracted fighting against Iran, Russia would see an opening and invade Ukraine. Afghanistan and Iraq showed us the complexities of fighting on two fronts at the same time. Russia may also see an opening to invade other Eastern European countries incapable of challenging Russian military power. Since Europe has relied so heavily on the United States for protection, their militaries are weak, ineffective, and almost nonexistent. The only military that can present a challenge is Poland, and so the only thing the Europeans will be able to do is provide support to Poland so that Russia cannot move any further West.

China may also see an opening. One of China’s long-term strategic goals is to recapture Taiwan, and this will create China’s best opportunity to do so as the United States will be too busy fighting Iran and will be unable to defend Taiwan. China will also look to capture the South China Sea Islands that are resource-rich. Several countries lay claim to these Islands, and so feeling threatened, what’s to say the Philippines, Japan, and Vietnam don’t declare war on China.

North Korea is another country that would be able to use the instability to make a move against South Korea. As North Korea continues to decline, Kim Jong Un may make the decision to invade South Korea in an attempt to create a unified Korean peninsula under his rule, and sack the resources and wealth of South Korea to improve the lives of the North Koreans.

Finally, we can look at the Maduro regime. As the Venezuelans are increasingly turning its back on Nicolas Maduro, he may view this as an opportunity to crush the dissent within his country, and unleash the full force of the Venezuelan and Cuban militaries. Due to the economic conditions, Maduro may begin to make a move against Colombia and destabilize Latin America knowing full well that the United States will not be able to respond.

Understand history and tread carefully

While none of this may come to fruition, we must remember that wars can quickly spiral out of control, and usually what we do not anticipate happening, happens. We must recognize the dangers that lie ahead. We must remember that all previous World Wars were fought on the basis of power and ambition. We must understand that a miscalculation can happen at any time, and while the intent may not be for war, it does not mean war won’t happen. Also, we are already witnessing those underestimating our opponents which will lead to poor strategic planning. Hopefully we think this through and can prevent the horrors explained above.

 

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