Op-Ed: The US Lost This War

The details of the US-Iran peace deal remain under wraps, but from the viewpoint of Tom Nichols at the Atlantic, one thing is already clear: The US lost. President Trump "began this war by promising the Iranian people that they would be able to seize their government from the theocratic tyrants who oppress them, and he repeatedly said he would settle for nothing less than 'unconditional surrender," writes Nichols in a scathing analysis. "Instead, the United States has been defeated." That may sound like an exaggeration, he acknowledges, but not when you look at how things have shaken out.

Yes, Iran is damaged, but its leadership survives, its missile and drone arsenals endure, its ability to menace Gulf shipping remains, and sanctions relief plus billions in unfrozen assets could leave it richer and more influential than before. Nichols contends that Trump's team will try to sell the agreement as a nuclear victory, even though Iran had already accepted limits under a 2015 pact that Trump himself scrapped. "Indeed, the United States has perhaps done worse than gaining nothing," he writes. "Iran, while temporarily weakened, is now an even more powerful political actor." Read the full column.