This past week, President Donald Trump accomplished what seven presidents before him never could by cutting the head off the snake of the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
For 47 years, this once-prosperous nation was turned into a prison of oppression, censorship, and violence by radical Shia clerics with apocalyptic visions of the future — visions that espoused the death and destruction of both the United States and Israel.
While Operation Epic Fury has thus far been swift and overtly effective, it’s no secret that this mission is long overdue. For over 40 years, the Washington foreign policy establishment — an elite cohort of professors, consultants, academics, and think tank “experts” — trotted around the nation’s capital writing strongly worded articles and hosting endless panels and speaking engagements about what the U.S. government should do in response to the Iran problem. All too often, the consensus boiled down to appeasement brought on by a paralyzing fear of escalation.
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Becoming professionals in the art of the revolving door, these individuals weaved in and out of government, advising leaders on Capitol Hill and in the White House about how to engage diplomatically with a terrorist organization that had no interest in negotiating or halting its nuclear ambitions.
This strategy led to absolutely nothing except oversized paychecks for the foreign policy establishment, which had essentially accomplished nil. The closest thing the Swamp got to addressing Iran’s nuclear facilities was the failed JCPOA. A lax “deal” that allowed the Iranian regime to do whatever it wanted while making Washington feel productive, during the Obama and Biden administrations, folks like Ben “Hamas” Rhodes led the charge on appeasement, and even gloated about misleading the Washington press corps to advance the deal, as if that was some stunning achievement.
Virtue signaling and long-winded sanctimony emboldened the Iranian regime to strengthen Hezbollah and Hamas with finances, weapons, and a global network of influence to the point where they were able to kill thousands of Americans and carry out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. In many cases, particularly during the Biden years, the White House let regime mouthpieces come to town to promote the ayatollah’s agenda themselves.
Thankfully, Trump is a doer, not a pontificator. He blackballed all the talkers and severed the American warfighter from the bureaucratic leash to do what they do best — kill the enemy efficiently with the best weapons in the world.
On Feb. 28, the greatest fighting force on Earth, along with our ally, Israel, unleashed a hellstorm of JDAMs, TLAMs, PrSMs, and the newly utilized LUCAS one-way attack drones to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a compound with his closest advisers, many of them successors to his seat that no longer exists. American strikes erased the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters in a matter of seconds with GBU-57 MOPs and JASSM-ER standoffs. The U.S. put the entirety of the Iranian Navy — all 11 ships — at the bottom of the Gulf of Oman in less than 48 hours. Hard deterrence toward U.S. adversaries is back, and rightfully so.
Hundreds of American lives could have been saved over the last 47 years if other American leaders had the will to unleash our outmatched military capabilities and end the Iranian regime instead of simply talking about it. Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who was vehemently opposed to the JCPOA 11 years ago — and a cadre consisting of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, and Adm. Brad Cooper in the CENTCOM AOR, has changed the course of human history by tangibly reaching out to kill the enemy.
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The case was the same in Venezuela when the U.S. captured former dictator Nicholas Maduro using our elite Night Stalkers and Delta Force operators. For years, U.S. leaders used sanctions, political pressure, and unenforceable bounties to try to coerce Maduro in a way that benefited the president. Trump simply kicked the door down in the middle of the night and ended his reign of terror in a couple of hours. This was the beginning of a welcome trend of wielding American hard power in the manner it was designed for, that is, unapologetically advancing American interests.
The era of Washington sitting around and talking is over. Action in the field will forever speak louder than political soapboxing. So long as the U.S. acts like the global hegemon it is, and most importantly, realizes that it is, long-term peace and stability are within sight.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) represents Texas’ Fourth Congressional District. A US Air Force veteran, he is a member of the House Armed Services, Intelligence and Oversight Committees.