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Attacking Iran : What is our endgame ?
dallasnews.com
Published about 7 hours ago

Attacking Iran : What is our endgame ?

dallasnews.com · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

Summary

Published: 20260227T083000Z

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Before dawn on Feb. 4, 2003, I boarded a U.S. Navy Grumman C-2 Greyhound aircraft. As U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, I was in the middle of assisting in the planning for our impending invasion of Iraq. The three-star general in charge of the planned air war suggested that I would benefit from seeing the intense preparations for the invasion from the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. The C-2 is a 28-seat workhorse twin-engine propeller plane designed for carrier onboard delivery (COD) tasking. These deliveries include cargo, military personnel, and on that day, me.I put on my flotation vest, helmet, goggles and noise-abating earmuffs. I was surprised to be strapped into a harness with all our seats facing backward. No flight attendants offered snacks or drinks. We were airborne quickly, and before long were on final approach for our landing on the USS Constellation. We circled the massive carrier a few times, descending in a corkscrew fashion to cut our airspeed to something safe enough to land on a floating runway. We hit the deck with force, going from 130 miles per hour to zero in three seconds.I met with the group commander of our flotilla teeming with multiple warships, as well as the commanding officer of the Constellation. We headed to the flight deck where operations were proceeding 24 hours a day, simulating the feverish pace of sorties that the fighter jets, pilots and crew would experience in real combat conditions. The roar of jet engines vibrated through my entire body on each takeoff and landing. If there were any doubts about the massive power of an American carrier group ready for combat, they were erased that day. Late in the day, I returned to the COD and experienced for the first time taking off from the deck of a carrier, propelled violently toward the bow, and hopefully over the rolling seas below, by the slingshot effect of the ship’s catapult launch system. Back to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and dry land after a long day.Twenty-three years later, we are witnessing another ramp-up of massive carrier power as America confronts the mullahs of Iran. Our largest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, initially departed from its home port in Norfolk, Va., on June 24, 2025, for deployment to the Mediterranean, with an expected return to Norfolk in December 2025 for major maintenance and refitting in early 2026. Instead, the Ford was redirected to the Caribbean to participate in the operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3.OpinionGet smart opinions on the topics North Texans care about.Or with: GoogleBy signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.We have now learned that the Ford Carrier Strike Group has been redirected a second time and is joining the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East. Each carrier group has three destroyer escorts, along with numerous other surface ships and likely submarines. The array of U.S. fighter jets, surveillance and associated planes deployed throughout the Middle East is the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.This buildup suggests that U.S. military planners expect a war with Iran to last considerably longer than the January incursion in Venezuela. It also represents a massive show of force intended to convey to Iran’s leaders America’s military capability and its willingness to use that capability. Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has expressed his general preference for limited objectives in military actions, accompanied by overwhelming force. There is a risk, though, that having assembled what President Donald Trump calls an “armada,” there is an incentive to use the power that has been assembled. We faced a similar tension when 150,000 American troops were stationed in Kuwait before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Troops cannot maintain battle readiness forever, creating pressure to deploy the forces before battle readiness is compromised. When you have the world’s most powerful hammer, everything can look like a nail.We should be forgiven for asking a simple question: what is the end game for all this display of military might? Why now? Initially, Trump conveyed sympathy with the thousands of Iranian protesters being gunned down by Iranian security forces, declaring “Help is on the way.” Then he casually observed that regime change wouldn’t be a bad thing. Now we have negotiations going on in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program, the one that we previously “obliterated.” If the negotiations fail, are we going to use the two-carrier armada to “re-obliterate” the nuclear program (if that’s a word)?President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday provided little clarification. Trump stated his preference for diplomacy but emphasized that he will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. He asserted that the vast array of firepower assembled is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but Iran has not uttered “those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon.” Yet Iran’s foreign minister indeed publicly promised that Iran “will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon.” It’s possible that Trump instead meant that Iran has not uttered other magic words: “We will no longer enrich uranium.” That issue may be the crux of the negotiations continuing in Geneva. We should remember that Iran still has hundreds of kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, vastly beyond the level required for civilian use. In the Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003 we successfully assembled a critical mass of allies who supported American leadership. We also had congressional approval of our objectives. This time around our partners in the Gulf are reluctant to allow their airspace to be used. Indeed, the Gulf Arabs see Iran as a weakened state while they view Israel as an expansionist and aggressive budding hegemon. Iran has threatened reprisals against the entire region if there is an American attack, endangering their core goals of stability and economic development. Even the United Kingdom has not granted American access to bases in England and Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, for any strike on Iran. And there has been no hint of informing or enlisting congressional support, through the State of the Union address or otherwise.In my classes at Southern Methodist University, I emphasize the cardinal rule of statecraft: it is essential to pursue an achievable objective, and equally essential to employ all means possible to meet the objective. The means used can be diplomatic, military, economic, psychological or media, or a combination of several. The support of allies and regional partners matters. Clarity of purpose matters. With diplomatic and economic tools still in our toolbox, it is premature to launch a dramatic military escalation just because we can.We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here.If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com


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