{"id":35697,"date":"2018-10-24T15:03:53","date_gmt":"2018-10-24T15:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:10:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:10:57","slug":"confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/","title":{"rendered":"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Somewhere in Tehran, Qassem Soleimani is probably smiling. And looking at developments across the Middle East over the past month, it would be hard to blame the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force commander for feeling cheerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Levant, Hizballah continues to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-45587633\">acquire precision rockets<\/a> despite Israeli interdiction efforts in Syria. There, President Bashar al-Assad\u2014with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/syria-blames-israel-killing-russians-hezbollah-ready-battle-1131787\">Iranian and Hizballah allies he still welcomes<\/a>\u2014is readying to retake the final opposition stronghold in Idlib Province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Iraq, Iran-backed Shia militia-<i>cum<\/i>-political parties are set to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/pulse\/originals\/2018\/09\/iraq-elections-prime-minister-sadr-soleimani-abdulmahdi.html\">play central roles<\/a> in the new Iraqi government, while more militant factions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2018\/09\/29\/652988484\/u-s-closes-consulate-in-basra-citing-iran-backed-violence\">fired rockets at U.S. diplomatic facilities<\/a> in Basra and Baghdad and have allegedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/middle-east-news\/iran\/iran-placing-missiles-in-iraq-in-message-to-u-s-israel-sources-say-1.6433629\">acquired ballistic missiles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Yemen, Houthi insurgents retain their hold on Sanaa and continue to launch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/saudis-intercept-houthi-missile-26-wounded-by-shrapnel\/4559837.html\">increasingly accurate missiles into Saudi Arabia<\/a>, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crisisgroup.org\/trigger-list\/iran-us-trigger-list\/flashpoints\/yemen-0\">positioning anti-ship cruise missiles<\/a> along the Red Sea and the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, the view from Tehran looks pretty good. What Gen. Soleimani sees is not only growing strength and capabilities for each of Iran\u2019s affiliates, but their evolution into regional actors able to unite with Iran against shared foes: the United States, Israel, and the Saudi-led Gulf coalition. How did this happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/the-americas\/2018\/10\/03\/iran-tensions-ratchet-as-us-scraps-treaty\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1033690694.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iran tensions ratchet as US scraps treaty<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S.-Iran relations took a tense new turn Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened Tehran over attacks on U.S. missions in Iraq and announced the termination of a 60-year old amity treaty with Tehran.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s intervention into the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/axis-rising-irans-evolving-regional-strategy-and-non-state-partnerships-middle-east\">transformed the strength and scope of the <i>axis of resistance<\/i><\/a>\u2014the decades-long partnership between, Iran, Hizballah and the Syrian regime\u2014into a broader partnership that now includes powerful factions in Iraq and Yemen. And these groups are no longer simply Iranian proxies. Rather, they have become a collection of ideologically aligned, militarily interdependent, mature political-military actors committed to mutual defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, the <i>axis<\/i> has evolved into an <i>alliance, <\/i>arrayed over multiple, non-contiguous fronts but centered on the concepts of collective security and extended deterrence, bolstered by expeditionary power. This evolution poses a direct threat to U.S. allies and interests in the Middle East \u2013 and means that U.S. strategists seeking to counter, or \u201crollback,\u201d Iran and its partners must consider three realities on the ground:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, the <i>axis <\/i>invested time, blood, and treasure into the region\u2019s wars and now \u201cown the ground.\u201d Rolling back Iran and its allies\u2014such as by degrading <i>axis<\/i> military architecture, empowering rivals, or negotiating Iran\u2019s withdrawal\u2014likely requires coercive diplomacy and\/or military force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second, such force would need to be applied against increasingly strong and resilient non-state partners. Countering Iran\u2019s influence requires a broad, regional strategy to contain and weaken the <i>axis<\/i> and tailored, local strategies to temper and degrade individual <i>axes <\/i>in their host countries<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Third, and most importantly for U.S. defense planners, the <i>axis <\/i>commitment to mutual defense and geographic dispersion of capabilities means conflict in one theater could reverberate in another, escalating into regional war. For example, Israeli military action in Lebanon could trigger not only a Hizballah retaliation against Israel, but also against the United States if we are perceived as combatants. It also means retaliation could come against U.S. forces in Lebanon, elsewhere in the world where Hizballah or Qods Force have terrorist assets, or from Hizballah\u2019s allies in Iraq and Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/09\/27\/dod-faces-scrutiny-on-mission-creep-in-syria-to-counter-iran\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-09-26-at-20.53.52.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">DoD faces scrutiny on mission creep in Syria to \u2018counter Iran&#8217;<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Plans to keep U.S. troops in Syria to counter Iran may not be constitutional without a new authorization from Congress.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thus, the situation for Pentagon planners has become more complicated in recent years, requiring a fundamental shift in how the department looks at a potential Iran rollback. If Iranian action compels a U.S. response, DoD strategists and planners should be prepared to address the following unique, complex challenges of such a campaign:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i><b>Cross-command coordination<\/b><\/i>: A regional war against Iran and its partners would likely span European Command (EUCOM) and Central Command (CENTCOM), complicating planning, resourcing, and command efforts. While EUCOM is charged with the defense of Israel and maritime operations from the Eastern Mediterranean, CENTCOM is responsible for the key Middle East battleground and the Arabian Gulf-to-Red Sea maritime theater. Ensuring COCOMs\u2019 respective tasks, asset allotment, operational sequencing, and coordination mechanisms are established and delineated before a war kicks off will be critical in prosecuting it once it begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i><b>Managing the escalation ladder<\/b><\/i>: The U.S. military will need to manage escalation or quickly achieve escalation dominance against both Iran and each of its partners. Planners need to consider U.S. responses to Iranian or partner aggression in particular theaters, and to Iran\u2019s response to U.S. actions and whether it comes in the same or different theaters. Command authorities will then need to decide whether the U.S. objective is to prevent further escalation to all-out regional war, or to now prosecute and win such a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i><b>Alliance Management<\/b><\/i>: Should the United States conduct a regional war with Israel and other allies and partners, campaign strategies and plans would need to be jointly conceived, resources and assets pooled and assigned, and command-and-control well integrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The evolution of the <i>axis of resistance <\/i>into an Iranian-led alliance calls for a fundamental shift in how the national security community conceptualizes Iran and its affiliated groups, and in how DoD plans and resources Middle East contingency scenarios. Addressing these issues now will be critical in deterring\u2014and winning\u2014a not-so-implausible regional war with Iran and its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Brian Katz is a Visiting Fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for the Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. For further analysis on the evolution of Iran\u2019s regional strategy and non-state partnerships, see the CSIS publication, \u201c<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/axis-rising-irans-evolving-regional-strategy-and-non-state-partnerships-middle-east\"><i>Axis Rising<\/i><\/a><i>,\u201d from October 11, 2018. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Disclaimer: The author is an employee of the United States government, currently on leave from his employment. All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis in this work are those of the author and do not reflect an official position or views of the United States government. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":66336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":75,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[75,101,24,89,16,26,18],"tags":[8495],"coauthors":[4326],"class_list":["post-35697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-opinion","tag-commentary"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"T55ML2AOZNBJPPZYW5GQITIGMI","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/23\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies? - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-24T15:03:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T16:10:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brian Katz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brian Katz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-10-24T15:03:53+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-20T16:10:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 958,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"keywords\": [\n\t                \"commentary\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Commentary\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Opinion\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies? - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-10-24T15:03:53+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-20T16:10:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/24\\\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Opinion\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"opinion\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Commentary\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"commentary\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies? - Air Force TImes","description":"Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?","og_description":"Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2018-10-24T15:03:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-20T16:10:57+00:00","author":"Brian Katz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brian Katz","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?","datePublished":"2018-10-24T15:03:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T16:10:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/"},"wordCount":958,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg","keywords":["commentary"],"articleSection":["Commentary","Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/","name":"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies? - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-10-24T15:03:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T16:10:57+00:00","description":"Brian Katz of CSIS lays out the three key challenges American planners need to consider when looking at potential conflict with Iran.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/10\/24\/confronting-the-axis-is-the-us-prepared-for-a-regional-war-with-iran-and-its-allies\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Opinion","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/","ad_zone":"opinion"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Commentary","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/","ad_zone":"commentary"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Confronting the axis: Is the US prepared for a regional war with Iran and its allies?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-890306446.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35697"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87909,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35697\/revisions\/87909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35697"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=35697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}