It has been just over 40 years since historian Barbara Tuchman published The March of Folly. The book is about wars that ought not to have been fought, as they went against the interests of the empire or country that undertook them, when better alternatives were available. I agree with Tuchman’s thinking and have since termed these kinds of conflicts “wars of choice” as opposed to those of necessity.

Today’s war in Iran is a war of choice.

As has been widely pointed out, evidence of the kind of immediate threat from Iran that the Trump administration cited to justify its massive military attack has yet to emerge. The U.S. had many other options, including enhanced sanctions and diplomacy.