https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/04/american-history-teaches-that-operation-epic…

19FortyFive

American History Teaches That Operation Epic Fury Is Not Another 'Forever War'

Robert C. O'Brien, former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, and historian Arthur Herman argue that Operation Epic Fury against Iran follows a 223-year American strategic tradition — the punitive expedition — that differs fundamentally from the protracted conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. From President Thomas Jefferson's Barbary Wars through President Ronald Reagan's Operation El Dorado Canyon and Operation Praying Mantis to President Trump's Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury, American presidents have used limited, time-bounded, high-intensity military operations to compel adversary behavior change without committing the United States to open-ended strategic obligations. The framework preserves presidential optionality, concentrates military force against specific targets rather than broad strategic objectives, and maintains the initiative with the White House rather than ceding it to adversary regimes. Operation Epic Fury is the latest American application of this strategic tradition, not a departure from it.