Seventeen years ago, the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. That disastrous decision tied the U.S. down in a conflict that has cost us nearly 4,500 lives and cost taxpayers a whopping $2 trillion. Most leaders in the foreign policy community now reluctantly recognize that the invasion of Iraq did not make us any safer. Hopes of turning the country into a liberal democracy to serve as a model for the rest of the Middle East were, in retrospect, delusional.

But some key policymakers have apparently failed to learn the lessons of the Iraq War and are pushing to start another major war in the Middle East. According to the New York Times, certain government officials have engaged in an effort to escalate military action against Iran significantly. One proposal supposedly involves sinking Iranian warships, an act of war that could lead to a major conflict.