For any U.S. president, the decision whether to intervene in a foreign war is a momentous one. This is the week when President Donald Trump has to make that decision. Should he, or should he not, use American air power to finish the job Israel has very nearly completed, ensuring that Iran never possesses nuclear weapons?
We understand why Trump is weighing the decision with the utmost care—why he gave negotiations with Iran a 60-day chance, and why he has spent many hours with his national security team, hearing their different views.
Opponents of U.S. military action tell a simplified story of past interventions—in Vietnam, most obviously, but some also cite Iraq and Afghanistan—that led to “forever wars.” But isolationists have trouble arguing that the United States should never intervene abroad. Would the Cold War have gone better if Harry Truman had abandoned South Korea to Stalin’s proxies in 1950? Would the Middle East have benefited if Kuwait had been left in Saddam Hussein’s hands in 1991? Would the Balkans be stabler today if Bill Clinton had not belatedly acted to save Bosnia and then Kosovo from Slobodan Milošević’s aggression?
