Americans Are Procrastinators and Impatient

I have noticed two constants in American life over the years-- both procrastination and impatience. And both are illustrated very clearly today in the Epic Fury military conflict with Iran.

As I understand the facts for Epic Fury, even after the 12-day war in June 2025, Iran still possessed enriched uranium which could eventually (a few months or years depending on your expert) enable Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran also possessed hundreds of ballistic missiles and utilized terrorist proxy groups to menace Israel and the Gulf States. The negotiations which the United States and Iran conducted to eliminate the enriched uranium were unsuccessful. Because Iran’s air defense capabilities were significantly degraded following the 12-day war, this presented a favorable opportunity for military action to be undertaken by the United States and Israel to attempt to eliminate or at least substantially degrade Iran’s nuclear capabilities, ballistic missiles, and the ability to arm and utilize the proxy terrorist groups. Regime change for Iran was also seen as a possibility. On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel commenced their military campaign which has been largely successful in destroying Iranian naval ships, significantly destroying Iranian ballistic missiles, and killing the top Iranian leadership team.

The United States and Iran have been operating under a very tenuous cease fire for the last 60 days with the Strait of Hormuz closed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard with the United States in turn imposing a naval blockade preventing Iran from exporting its oil. Recent negotiations organized by Pakistan and Egypt mediators to settle the military conflict have been unsuccessful largely because of Iran’s unwillingness to surrender its enriched uranium and related capabilities needed to develop a nuclear bomb. Opinion polling in the United States has been negative against the military conflict. There are undoubtedly several reasons for the negative opinion polls. I believe it is fair to say that the Trump Administration failed to adequately explain to Congressional leaders and the American people the need to undertake the military conflict, and the fact that favorable military conditions existed in Iran to undertake the conflict at the time chosen by the Trump Administration. It could also be argued that the Trump Administration either failed (i) to anticipate that Iran would retain the military capability with drones and speed boats to close the strait of Hormoz or (ii) to develop an effective strategy in advance to counter the closure if it occurred. While these reasons likely contribute to the negative public opinion view of the conflict, I believe the primary reason for the unpopularity is the fact that most Americans did not see Iran as a demonstrated existential threat to the United States and therefore were unwilling to support a military conflict that resulted in much higher gasoline and diesel prices and greater inflationary pressure for the economy. Moreover, the American public is always impatient and has a relatively short attention span for a prolonged military conflict and becomes even more negative and disengaged during an extended cease fire period which fails to bring a successful end to the military conflict.

I believe the Trump Administration as well as any future Administration should understand and not fail to consider the reticence and lack of appetite of the American people to support any military conflict where there is not a demonstrated existential threat to the United States; a clear path for military success; and the prospect for an expedited conclusion for the military conflict. This was certainly the case for public opinion during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s and the  the Desert Storm military conflict in Iraq during the early 2000s. The President gains no favorable traction in public opinion by arguing that prior military conflicts such as Viet Nam and Desert Storm were far longer in duration than Epic Fury has been. Unfortunately, he must deal with the challenging reality which he now faces and not the reality which he would like to face.

God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.

A group of frustrated and inpatient American citizens.