US forces in Iraq. Photo courtesy of the Nevada Office of Veterans Affairs.
As of March 9th, the Iranian air force and navy have been destroyed, along with thousands of high-value targets, including Iranian command centers, air-defense systems, missile-production facilities, launch platforms, and airfields across the country.
Oil refineries and nuclear-related facilities have also been struck, including unconfirmed reports of hits on the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran headquarters in Tehran, the explosive-research facility at Parchin, and additional strikes at the Isfahan nuclear complex.
Ayatollah Khamenei was killed, and state media now confirm that his replacement, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, has been wounded. Iran’s oil refineries are on fire, and the regime can neither earn money by exporting oil nor import daily necessities.
Online anti-American propaganda claims that the US is losing, although only six US servicemen and women have been killed so far, and no US ships or planes have been destroyed.
Other claims suggest that Iran is preparing to release some sort of miracle offensive that will change the trajectory of the war, but that also seems implausible. Any significant response Iran has at its disposal would likely have been launched immediately after the ayatollah was killed.
Additional propaganda resurfacing online includes claims, largely from Chinese, Iranian, and anti-American accounts, that America has not won a war in 80 years.
The only grain of truth in that statement is that the US has not declared war in 80 years, so technically one cannot win a war if no war exists. However, the implication is that the US cannot defeat Iran, which is of course counterfactual, since the US is currently defeating Iran.
Furthermore, while it is true that the United States has not formally declared war in that time, it has decimated every country it has fought against, and none of them were able to inflict much damage on the US.
Additionally, although postwar statecraft has often failed, the military objectives were achieved in almost every instance.
Below is a list of U.S. military conflicts since the end of World War II. It includes casualty numbers, data on damage to local versus U.S. infrastructure, the original military objectives, and whether those objectives were achieved.
Korea (1950–1953) Objective: Repel the North Korean invasion and restore South Korean sovereignty. US KIA: ~37,000. Enemy KIA: ~400,000 North Korean and Chinese military dead.
No US infrastructure was damaged on American soil. North Korea lost roughly 20 percent of its population, and its industrial base was largely destroyed.
The invasion was repelled and South Korea was preserved. South Korea is now a democratic, prosperous US ally and one of the world’s largest economies. North Korea remains a failed totalitarian state.
Vietnam (1955–1975) Objective: Prevent the communist takeover of South Vietnam. US KIA: ~58,000. Enemy KIA: approximately 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong military dead; civilian deaths on all sides estimated at 2 million or more.
No US infrastructure was damaged on American soil. Military objective not achieved. South Vietnam fell in 1975. However, Vietnam today has a market economy, is a significant US trading partner, and relations were normalized in 1995.
Dominican Republic (1965) Objective: Protect American citizens and prevent a communist takeover. US KIA: 47. Dominican casualties: approximately 3,000.
Military objective achieved; a pro-American transitional government was installed. The Dominican Republic is today a stable democratic US partner.
Iraqi Kurdistan — No-Fly Zone (1991–2003) Objective: Protect Kurdish and Shia populations from Saddam Hussein’s military following the Gulf War.
As a direct result of the US-enforced no-fly zone established after the Gulf War, Iraqi Kurds gained de facto autonomy.
The groundwork was laid for the Kurdistan Regional Government, which today governs roughly six million people with its own parliament, military, and oil-based economy.
The Kurds are among the most pro-American populations in the Middle East. By virtually any measure, including security, economic development, religious freedom, and political representation, Iraqi Kurds are dramatically better off than under Saddam.
Grenada (1983) Objective: Protect American medical students and remove a Marxist military junta. US KIA: 19. Enemy KIA: roughly 70 Grenadian and Cuban combatants.
No US infrastructure was damaged. Objective fully achieved in days. Grenada is today a stable democracy and US partner.
Panama (1989) Objective: Oust narco-dictator Manuel Noriega, protect the Panama Canal, and restore democracy. US KIA: 23. Panamanian military and civilian dead: approximately 300–500.
No US infrastructure was damaged. Objective fully achieved. Panama is today a democracy, and the canal operates freely. Living standards have improved considerably.
Gulf War (1990–1991) Objective: Expel Iraq from Kuwait and restore Kuwaiti sovereignty. US KIA: 148 combat deaths. Iraqi military dead: estimated 25,000–50,000.
Iraqi infrastructure was heavily bombed; no US infrastructure was damaged. Objective fully achieved in 100 hours of ground combat.
Kuwait was liberated and remains a US partner. The decision not to remove Saddam Hussein is widely considered the main strategic shortcoming.
Somalia (1993) Objective: Protect humanitarian operations and stabilize a failed state. US KIA: 19 (Battle of Mogadishu). Somali militia killed: estimated 500–1,000 in that engagement alone.
No US infrastructure was damaged. Objective largely not achieved; the US withdrew. Somalia remains a fragile state, though the humanitarian mission delivered significant food aid.
Bosnia — Operation Deliberate Force (1995) Objective: Stop Bosnian Serb ethnic cleansing of Muslims, end the siege of Sarajevo, and force compliance with UN resolutions following the Srebrenica massacre, in which approximately 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered.
The operation ran from August 30 to September 20, 1995, involving 400 aircraft and 5,000 personnel from 15 nations and striking 338 Bosnian Serb targets.
No allied personnel were killed. Civilian casualties on the Serbian side were fewer than 30. No US infrastructure was damaged.
The objective was fully achieved; the Bosnian Serbs withdrew heavy weapons from Sarajevo, and the Dayton Accords ended the war in November 1995.
Bosnia today is a functioning multiethnic state on a path toward European integration. The contrast with the pre-intervention period, when concentration camps, mass rape, and genocide occurred on European soil, could not be starker.
Kosovo — Operation Allied Force (1999) Objective: Halt Serbian ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians by Slobodan Milošević and force the withdrawal of Serbian military and paramilitary forces from Kosovo.
NATO flew more than 38,000 sorties over 78 days, including 10,484 strike sorties, without a single allied combat fatality.
Human Rights Watch estimated that between 489 and 528 Yugoslav civilians were killed in the air campaign. No US infrastructure was damaged.
The operation ended with the capitulation of Milošević and the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosovo.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and is today a functioning state with a pro-American population. It is one of the most pro-American countries in the world, and a large statue of Bill Clinton stands in the capital, Pristina.
Afghanistan (2001–2021) Objective: Destroy al-Qaeda, topple the Taliban regime that harbored them, and prevent future attacks on the US. US KIA: approximately 2,400. Enemy killed: estimated tens of thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters over 20 years.
No US infrastructure was damaged on American soil. The initial military objectives, destroying al-Qaeda’s base and toppling the Taliban, were achieved rapidly.
The long-term nation-building objective failed; the Taliban retook the country in 2021. However, no major attack on the American homeland has been launched from Afghan soil since 2001.
Iraq (2003–2011) Objective: Remove Saddam Hussein and establish a stable democracy. US KIA: approximately 4,500. Iraqi military and insurgent dead: estimated 30,000–50,000 combatants; civilian deaths heavily disputed, ranging from 150,000 to over 600,000. No US infrastructure was damaged on American soil.
Saddam was removed and executed; no WMD stockpiles were found. A functioning elected government was established, though sectarian instability persists. Iraq today cooperates with the US on security while also hosting Iranian-backed militias.
Iraqi Kurdistan — Formal Autonomy (post-2003) The 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam cemented what the 1991 no-fly zone had begun.
The Kurdistan Regional Government today stands as one of the clearest success stories of US military engagement in the Middle East, a stable, self-governing, democratically elected administration that has remained a reliable US partner and base of operations throughout every subsequent regional conflict, including the current campaign against Iran.
Libya (2011) Objective: Protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces under UN authorization. US KIA: 0 in combat. Libyan government forces suffered significant losses.
No US infrastructure was damaged. Gaddafi was killed and his regime collapsed. The military objective was technically achieved. Libya dissolved into civil war and remains a failed state.
ISIS / Operation Inherent Resolve and Rojava (2014–present) Objective: Destroy ISIS’s territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria. US KIA: approximately 100. ISIS fighters killed: estimated 70,000–80,000 over the campaign. No US infrastructure was damaged on American soil.
The objective was achieved; the caliphate was eliminated by 2019. A significant byproduct of this campaign was the emergence of the autonomous administration of northeastern Syria, known as Rojava, built by Kurdish and allied forces armed and trained by US special operations forces.
The region today governs several million people with a degree of political pluralism and women’s participation in governance that is virtually unique in the Arab world.
Its long-term survival remains uncertain given Turkish opposition and the post-Assad political situation, but the population has experienced substantially greater security and self-governance than under either ISIS or Assad.
Venezuela — Operation Absolute Resolve (January 3, 2026) Objective: Capture narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro to face drug-trafficking charges in US federal court, suppress Venezuela’s air defenses, and end the country’s role as a hub for Tren de Aragua and drug trafficking toward the United States.
More than 200 US special operations forces participated in the operation, supported by over 150 aircraft targeting at least seven military facilities.
Maduro and his wife were captured, and no US personnel were killed. At least 74 Venezuelan and Cuban soldiers, most of whom were part of Maduro’s personal security detail, were killed, along with at least three civilians.
Maduro was transported to New York City, arraigned in Manhattan federal court on narco-terrorism charges, and ordered held pending trial. No US infrastructure was damaged on American soil. Objective fully achieved.
The US has defeated multiple armies and achieved its objectives in most of its conflicts since World War II. So far, Iran appears to be following the same path.
The leader was killed and most of the military was destroyed quickly. Now the country is almost completely cut off economically.
In order to end the regime, missile launch sites and drone-manufacturing facilities are being targeted, as well as the leaders of the IRGC and the government. Over a long enough timeline, US victory is just a question of political will.
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