The US Wants War Without Entanglement. It May Not Exist.
Swift, punitive strikes are meant to deliver results without boots on the ground. Yet they can leave the US mired in the very conflicts they were meant to resolve.
Ground Crew remove a rotary launch system from the bomb bay of a US Air Force B-1 bomber at RAF Fairford on March 11 in Fairford, England.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesDonald Trump believes America can fight wars without becoming trapped in them.
The strikes on Iran are the latest expression of that belief: delivering swift, decisive force from a distance, not backed by a multi-country coalition or boots on the ground. They aim to deliver overwhelming but bounded force to coerce adversaries without dragging the US into another Iraq or Afghanistan.