Rewarding your enemies while punishing your friends

Writing after the Napoleonic wars, the great military strategist Carl von Clausewitz wrote in his magnum opus “On War” that “war is the continuation of politics by other means.”

That maxim proved true after American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner failed to reach a nuclear agreement with the Iranians, who boasted they had enough enriched uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs. This was months after the Israelis and the U.S. relentlessly bombed Iran, with the coup de grace applied by our B-2 bombers obliterating Iran’s nuclear operations. After Iran was told to cease and desist from its nuclear ambitions, it still pursued efforts to restart its nuclear program. Because of that, coupled with Iran’s industrial scale ballistic missile productions, exceeding by many multiples our production of missiles to counter them, the United States launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28.

In these pages, I supported the war, as its goals included destroying Iran’s nuclear ambitions, curbing its ballistic missile capacity, and stopping its ability to support its proxies, which were wreaking havoc in Israel and the Gulf states.

The military campaign that ensued was highly successful, partnering with the IDF’s capable air force. Iran’s military was largely destroyed, several leadership layers were decapitated, and its industrial capacity to replace missiles and armaments largely was destroyed.

But the Iranians used the only leverage point available, illegally blocking the Strait of Hormuz. How our military did not anticipate this is very baffling. But we countered with a blockade, costing Iran $500 million a day in lost revenue.

Soon a ceasefire was declared, rarely upheld by the Iranians and Hezbollah. And the negotiations stretched on far longer than Operation Fury itself. And after much anticipation of what the president trumpeted as a great deal, we have an MOU that gives away the store on a hope and a prayer.

Iran has a 47-year history of lying and obfuscating. It violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and agreed to forswear any nuclear ambitions as part of the JCPOA in 2015. Yet it buried its nuclear operations in tunnels below a mountaintop, defying any credibility.

The main interlocutors used for our indirect negotiations with Iran, Pakistan and Qatar, don’t even recognize the state of Israel. And our partner in Epic Fury, who has suffered the most from Iran and its proxies, was sidelined from any of the negotiations. The terms of the MOU were even withheld from Israel and Congress for days.

And the MOU richly rewards Iran by lifting the blockade with no tolls charged for 60 days only. This is rewarding piracy by Iran’s illegal blockade of an international waterway. And there are prospects in store for additional lifting of sanctions. And what happens after the 60 days? That’ll be determined by Iran, Oman, and the Gulf states. I suspect the days of free passage of the Straits ante bellum will be in the history books.

And then there’s the gratuitous allure of a $300 billion development fund for Iran. The Gulf states, whose major offensive military operation is bribery, will pour billions into this effort. Why this was included in the MOU is part of the paradigm for developers like Trump. But somebody should remind him that the Marshall Plan was developed after the Nazis surrendered unconditionally.

And all this largesse is predicated on Iran following through on giving up its nuclear program, with the details ironed out over the next 60 days — getting even closer to the midterms. If the Iranians stonewall, will Trump have the stomach to restart the war and have gasoline prices spike and the Dow falter?

So we have no assurance for success on the nuclear front. But the goal of curbing ballistic missiles and Iranian proxies is not even included in the MOU.

Linking Lebanon to the MOU will strengthen Hezbollah and potentially hinder Israel’s military options. Meanwhile, the State Department has convened successful sessions between the Israelis and Lebanon seeking to disarm Hezbollah and restore Lebanon’s sovereignty. Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing? Chillingly, Iran boasted to Hezbollah that more cash is on the way

During the halcyon days of Epic Fury, Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine touted Israel’s prowess as a capable partner, the most reliable ally the U.S. has.

Since then, Israel has been treated shabbily by the president and vice president. Not only were Israel’s strategic aims of limiting ballistic missiles and eliminating funding Iranian proxies ignored, its role in the war was slighted, its success in Lebanon was demeaned, and its prime minister was ridiculed. Vance went further in taunting Israel’s global isolation and ignoring Israel’s contributions to the U.S. military, including its research and development of weapons systems, unparalleled sharing of intelligence, and improving the U.S.’s weapons systems. And the military aid it gets must be spent in the U.S., employing tens of thousands in our major defense corporations.

I offer some of my own corollaries to von Clauswitz’s. Never start a war you don’t intend to finish. Never do so this close to the midterms.

And most importantly, if Iran reneges on its promises, relaunch the war, but only after the midterms.

Max Kleinman of Fairfield was the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest from 1995 to 2014. He is the president of the Fifth Commandment Foundation and consultant for the Jewish Community Legacy Project.

Opinion