More than a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt spoke about his approach to foreign policy with a phrase that has survived generations: “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” The lesson was never simply that America should possess crushing military power. Military power is most effective when used with restraint, credibility, and a clear understanding of what it is supposed to accomplish.
Five months into America’s conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump should heed this lesson. The United States indisputably carries the biggest stick. We have devastated Iranian military capabilities and demonstrated the overwhelming power of the U.S. Armed Forces. Military superiority is not the same as strategic success.
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At the beginning of this conflict, Americans heard broad commitments about what military force would accomplish: Iran’s missile capability would be destroyed, its nuclear ambitions ended, and its ability to destabilize the region crippled. At various stages, the rhetoric swelled to demands for unconditional surrender and political change inside Iran. We were also told the military campaign would be short.
Months later, the public still lacks clear answers to the most basic questions justifying the use of force: What is the mission now? What constitutes victory? How does the operation end? These questions are becoming more urgent because Iran’s hard-line leadership believes time is on its side.
Tehran is making sweeping demands in negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including sanctions relief, compensation for war damage, the release of frozen assets, and the withdrawal of American forces from the region. This is not a government preparing to surrender. It is a government that knows its control of the strait gives it powerful leverage.
Military deterrence depends upon credibility. Deadlines that repeatedly move become less meaningful. Threats to escalate that go unfulfilled become less frightening. Promises that victory is just around the corner become harder to accept as the fighting continues. Iran’s leaders are betting that the U.S. will not commit ground troops.
Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War: “He who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. He who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.” Two thousand years later, the principle remains relevant. America has demonstrated extraordinary tactical capability in Iran. The unanswered question is what strategic conclusion those tactical successes are serving.
As a combat veteran, I do not make that argument lightly. Military force can be necessary, and American strategic weakness can invite aggression. But the service members carrying out these missions deserve more than demonstrations of strength. They deserve a plan.
Eighteen American service members have been killed. Hundreds more have been wounded. Tens of billions of dollars have been spent. American weapons inventories have been depleted. Military families have endured months of uncertainty while the mission’s stated goals continue to shift. Those are not abstractions. They are the cost of decisions made in Washington.
Hard power becomes weaker, not stronger, when an adversary concludes that America’s leaders are uncertain how to convert battlefield dominance into a positive strategic outcome. Our military can destroy missiles and command centers. They can destroy navies. They cannot, by themselves, create a political conclusion. That requires diplomacy backed by credible military power — not diplomacy interrupted by threats, shifting deadlines, and changing definitions of success.
The Trump administration now appears to be looking for an off-ramp. If that produces a durable agreement that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, restores freedom of navigation, and protects American forces and allies, it should be welcomed.
Seeking peace is not weakness. Failing to define what peace must accomplish is.
Roosevelt understood the distinction. “Speak softly” came before “carry a big stick.”
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America has demonstrated the size of its stick. What our government has not demonstrated is how using it brings this war to an end.
Congress and the Trump administration owe the public that answer, particularly the men and women still being asked to carry out a mission whose strategic endgame remains undefined.
Scott W. Patton is a veteran of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, the 5th Special Forces Group, and the 19th Special Forces Group. He is a member of a Gold Star family and has been published in The Plain Dealer, USA Today, Army Times, HuffPost, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets.
