The U.S. and Iran: Adding to the list of fiascos?

Iran is at a tipping point (once again). And so is President Trump’s foreign policy.

Iranians have gone into the streets in the last few weeks to bring down the repressive Islamic regime. But they face an intact, ruthless security service—and some thousands of protesters have been gunned down. Thousands more have been arrested.

Sanctions probably won’t be enough.

The protesters are “the boots on the ground” but without direct American support in the form of airstrikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other security force targets to weaken the regime’s “coercive infrastructure” the protest movement may soon lose momentum—and fail once again.

It is unclear what President Trump will decide.

But he has encouraged Iranians to “…keep protesting and take over your institutions if you can.” And he also warned the Mullahs that the US is “locked and loaded.”

One hopes he doesn’t leave the freedom seeking Iranians hanging.

If Trump does, he will add to the long list of American missteps in the Middle East over the last 47 years. All of them were avoidable, and people were sounding the alarm, and ignored.

Reviewing the history makes for grim reading—especially when one considers the costs.

 GULF WAR

* President George H.W. Bush not keeping the Gulf War going another 72 hours and sending Saddam Hussein packing in 1991. Saddam was preparing to flee. We would not have needed the 2003 invasion of Iraq with everything that came of that.

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