Economist and Globe and Mail columnist John Rapley joins Stephen LeDrew to ask why the war involving the United States and Iran is still dragging on months after it began.
Rapley argues that Washington entered the conflict with powerful military capabilities but without a sufficiently clear political endgame.
The United States and its allies have inflicted substantial damage on Iran’s military infrastructure, while Iran has suffered enormous economic pressure. Yet the government in Tehran remains in power and continues to pose a regional threat.
Rapley argues that this illustrates an important difference between tactics and strategy: winning individual battles does not necessarily tell you how to end a war.
The conversation also turns to Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, the reluctance of American allies to become more deeply involved, and the role of China and Russia, which have their own strategic reasons for preventing Iran from simply falling into Washington’s orbit.
The fundamental question is simple: what outcome is the United States actually trying to achieve — and how does it get there?
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