The Victory Option
Kurt Schlichter
There are two kinds of people: the kind of people who want to end the Iran War and people who want to win the Iran War. The Victory Option encompasses the goal of the first kind of people because it ends the war, but ending the war is not the proper objective. The proper objective in any war is to win it. Anyone glancing at social media sees people with an absolute commitment to America’s defeat. And defeat comes about only if Donald Trump chooses to quit the war – because the Iranians can’t make us do anything since they don’t have a nuclear bomb, thanks to Donald Trump – in a way that doesn’t achieve victory. Victory means regime change. Once again, remember your Clausewitz – war is simply politics with other means. This is a political struggle. The military aspect is just how it’s being done, not what’s being done.
A victory end-state is one in which Iran is no longer a destabilizing force in the world – note that I said “world,” not just the Middle East. By destabilizing force, I mean the funder of radically jihadi savages all over the world – for example, they blew up a Jewish center in Argentina – as well as enablers of Chi Com mischief by selling Xi oil. They are also a destabilizing force because they seek to be the owners of sufficient numbers of drones and missiles that they can inflict unacceptable punishment on their neighbors. Oh, and there’s the whole nuclear thing. Just imagine Iran with nuclear weapons on top of ballistic missiles. You know, the ballistic missiles they promised they didn’t have, but actually had, since they shot a couple at Diego Garcia? Putting aside all the fatwas the fatheads cite claiming that the ayatollahs had forbidden nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, think about them having Paris and London in hot rock range, with the United States coming soon into the crosshairs as Iran reaches intercontinental capability. That’s when they start dictating to us. Call me crazy, but I prefer we dictate to our enemies instead of vice versa.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2026/03/30/the-victory-option-n2673609
