Quagmire
Both Washington and Tehran want to inflict enough pain that the other side buckles. But neither side seems to be living in reality
The United States and Iran appear locked into their six-month-old war, with both lacking a clear path to victory and each clinging to unrealistic ideas about what their adversary will accept to end the conflict.
Iranians are already suffering immensely. Thousands have been killed in strikes by America and its allies, while thousands more have been murdered by Tehran’s ruthless security apparatus, and the country’s economy has been devastated by decades of sanctions and war.
More than 750 U.S. service members have been wounded since the war began on Feb. 28, with 18 killed in action. America is spending tens of billions of dollars on military operations in the region. The Pentagon is now focused on protecting the transit of oil through a chokepoint in the Persian Gulf, in an effort to return maritime trade there to its pre-war levels.
