cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8856436
Here's the link but honestly not worth reading
Except for this
Critics maintain that the rapid and large-scale expenditure of munitions has “wrung out” U.S. power and that Washington’s inability to subdue Iran sends a message of American weakness around the world. On the contrary, the war showed that the United States is still willing and able to engage in large-scale military action. Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping cannot safely assume the Pentagon will stay on the sidelines if they attack NATO or Taiwan.
The war also gave the U.S. military the opportunity to practice. China’s People’s Liberation Army has not fought a war in decades. The Pentagon just conducted a months-long exercise in Iran of new tactics and technology that will be useful in a future conflict in Europe or Asia.
What points? We bombed children and civilian infrastructure when we discovered we couldn't destroy their primary offensive capability. We watched helplessly as they did the very thing that was predicted would happen (closed the straight) and forced hardship all over the world. Depleted our own offensive and defensive capability supporting and protecting isreal without significantly effecting theirs. We lost tremendous strategic advantage in the region as Iranian bombs rained down on our bases and oil infrastructure in the region, damaging valuable weapons and killing our soldiers. We achieved none of the stated goals for starting the war aside from killing a few of their old leaders who were rather quickly replaced. The president embarrassed the nation and ruined our reputation repeatedly by alternately begging for peace and immediately ignoring the requirements for even starting negotiations. Trump showed his personal capitulation to Netanyahu by refusing to abide by terms in earlier agreements that would require isreal to stop doing even just one of their genocides for five fucking minutes.
And for what? What notches do we have in our column? Please elaborate.