For those wondering whether America is winning in Iran, most current assessments pale in relevance to William Shakespeare’s Henry V. Toward the end of the play, the English king tallies the mind-boggling French losses at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt. In the end, they number more than 10,000, a “royal fellowship of death”—with the English losing a mere 29. While these numbers are a literary exaggeration, the historical record confirms that the English won big at Agincourt. And they won because very few of their soldiers were killed, in sharp contrast to the enemy. “Was ever known so great and little loss?” asks Henry.
Today, if you were to consult much of the media, you would get the impression that Iran is handing America a humiliating defeat. “America Lost. Iran Won. Trump Shat the Bed,” moaned Jonathan V. Last in The Bulwark on April 2. “Advantage Iran,” blared the cover of The Economist on March 26. Iran is “winning the war,” said Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts on Friday, shortly after Iranian forces shot down two U.S. planes.
