When a democracy finds itself in a war it has to speak and explain to its own people.
But what you say to your own people and what you say to your enemy are not the same thing.
With war now being waged against Iran, the American people need to know the why, the how and the what next.
Iranian leaders need to know nothing.
But they are for sure hearing something. President Trump has been speaking.
Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth has been speaking.
Hegseth has stated that the U.S. is intent on destroying Iran’s navy, its ballistic missile production, and its potential to produce a nuclear weapon.
He has been stressing that the U.S. will not get bogged down in the conflict.
He said that the U.S. military operation is not a “democracy-building exercise” and that “this is not Iraq. This is not endless.”
If you are the Iranian leadership, post Khamenei, you are now thinking that we might just have to wait things out.
The U.S. and Israeli attacks will not go on indefinitely.
If you are an ordinary Iranian citizen you are not happy to be hearing this.
You have lived and suffered under a crushing and brutal theocratic dictatorship and after the recent mass slaughter all you are getting now is mass destruction and likely even more brutal repression when the Americans call a halt.
Secretary Hegseth has also stated that he will not predict how long it would take for President Trump to declare the mission accomplished.
“President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take. Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up, it could move back," he told reporters.
We talk about the fog of war. This is more like thick clouds.
There is a sense that the administration is literally winging it amid all the bombardment from the air and sea.
President Trump has indicated the possibility that there might be American boots on the ground, or there might not.
Generally speaking, wars are not won solely as a result of attacks from the air.
But, if Secretary Hegseth's words are to be interpreted correctly, this is less of a war as it is a specific operation.
During the recent uprising in Iran, which witnessed the murder of tens of thousands of Iranians by the Iranian security forces, President Trump told Iranians that help was on the way.
What is happening now looks less like help than more misery piled on top of misery.
The White House website describes "Operation Epic Fury" as "a precise, overwhelming military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal, degrade its proxy terror networks, and cripple its naval forces.
This operation, executed in partnership with regional allies, follows exhaustive diplomatic efforts and comes after 47 years of Iranian aggression — including attacks on U.S. citizens, sponsorship of global terrorism, and brutal oppression of its own people."
For sure the tears for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will not amount to many.
You might find them in the Kremlin, or in a room full of Hezbollah members.
Millions of Iranians are for sure not mourning the man's passing.
The problem is they might end up after all this mourning the loss of many more of their fellow Iranians.
You can end an air and naval action, switch it off, pull back.
But its effects and consequences last beyond such a relatively simple act.
We can only hope that the nation's leaders fully understand this.
