PNN – The US wars of recent decades have not only failed to achieve their stated goals, but have also become a clear failure at the strategic level.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; in an analysis by Stephen Walt, a prominent international relations theorist and professor at Harvard University, Foreign Policy magazine dissected Donald Trump’s refusal to admit defeat in the 2026 war with Iran and wrote that admitting error is the only way for Trump to exit the war against Iran. Some of the themes of the report are as follows:
Washington’s rhetoric exposed as hollow
Stephen Walt emphasizes that any intelligent person knows that starting this war was a catastrophic miscalculation on the part of the United States and Israel; because none of the stated goals of Trump and Pete Hegsett (US Secretary of Defense) were achieved; the Iranian regime did not fall, did not give up its nuclear stockpiles, its missile and drone capabilities remained intact, and it proved that it can deal a fatal blow to the world economy by blocking the Strait of Hormuz at any time.
The humiliating pig makeup of defeat with the mask of victory
A Foreign Policy analyst wrote that after signing a potential agreement, the Trump administration will do everything in its power to make this retreat look like a strategic victory, but this delusional fumbling and attempt to “make up a pig” will only make the president and his yes-sacrificing advisers look ridiculous in the eyes of global public opinion.
Evading responsibility in the style of dictators
By comparing Trump to other democratic leaders in American history, such as John F. Kennedy (in the Bay of Pigs incident) or Ronald Reagan (in the Iran-Contra affair), who had the courage to relatively admit their mistakes, Walt points out that due to his authoritarian spirit and reliance on the cult of personality, Trump considers admitting mistakes to be the cause of the collapse of his aura of power and grandeur, and prefers not to acknowledge a single mistake in his record, like George W. Bush in 2004.
Trump’s Opportunism to Blame and Sacrifice Netanyahu
The author argues that Trump, as a political norm-breaker, is best placed to admit this mistake and shift the blame to others. He could point to the long-standing challenge of Iran and place the blame for this failure squarely on the misguided advice of Benjamin Netanyahu, a prime minister who is now an extremely toxic and hated figure in the US and Israel, and his sacrifice could also revive Trump’s popularity.
Illusionary Comparison with Political Rivals
Walt writes sarcastically that even if Trump admits defeat, he will turn it into a means of self-praise, and with phrases such as “Unlike the sleepy Joe Biden, I am a stable genius who is constantly learning and adapting to the situation,” he immediately clears the agenda and diverts public opinion towards the White House’s fringe projects.
Conclusion
Foreign Policy’s analysis shows that Trump’s stubborn insistence on dragging out the war and creating an illusory victory out of a major scandal has not only doubled the economic suffering and damage of America’s allies, but also further eroded Washington’s international standing; behavior that Walt likens to the stubbornness of elderly men who are unable to discern their true interests.