When President Donald Trump ordered an armada of naval vessels, fighter planes, bombers and high-tech surveillance drones to the Middle East, he thought he had the answer to decades of tension and terrorism from Iran. He may well be right.

But with that answer comes a series of supplemental questions. Some of them involve vital domestic issues. Some involve the conduct of the war itself and, critically, its aftermath. All require deeper thought than Trump — like Ronald Reagan, motivated by instinct — customarily is credited for. And all require answers in the next few days or weeks.

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G_Allen
G_Allen

Sometimes history is a great teacher. Sometimes it just isn't that relevant.

Today's Internet, AI-driven world is something without parallel, ever. And the proliferation of nuclear weapons has made us question our survival as a species.

One thing we know for sure is that rogue, terrorist regimes can't have them. Well, we failed that test in North Korea. Despite several presidents vowing to prevent that rogue regime from buying or developing nuclear weapons, they succeeded. The long-term ramifications of that are still to be learned.

Iran is a different case. They aren't isolated. They are smack in the middle of a strategic chokepoint, and they have a history of terrorism--which has only been reconfirmed for the millionth time during the current conflict as they lash out at their frenemies and all but close the shipping lanes.

But the US took the action that so many before had promised: we prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

We had no choice, because the alternatives--whatever they are, including if they close the straight of Hormuz forever--are worse. We weren't waiting for an "imminent threat," we were dealing with a certain eventual threat, and Trump did the right thing.

I'm sure everyone can now be a Monday morning quarterback and opine how Trump and his millions of federal employees should have anticipated every contingency and mapped them all out in advance. Well, I'm sure we could have just kicked the can another decade or two down the road while we dithered and dathered about what to do and when to do it. Or, we can stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb and deal with the repercussions of that fateful, timely, but necessary decision, which was the right one.

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