Tale of two wars: 'US winning conventional war, Iran winning asymmetrical war'

Delano D'Souza is pleased to welcome Dr. William Lawrence, Senior Academic and Research Fellow-in-Residence and the Director of the North African Area Studies Program at the National Council on US-Arab Relations. As a scholar of international affairs and a former US diplomat in Muslim world, he views what we are witnessing as not merely policy inconsistency, but a deliberate embrace of chaos and unpredictability as a coercive tool. Yet such theatrical instability carries diminishing returns when used as a modus operandi towards adversaries, explains Dr. Lawrence. "Trump thinks he can force Iran to the table by being hyperbolic and apocalyptic and chaotic. Iranians, in turn, respond with so much mockery and so much bravado." Paradoxically, both the United States and Iran are operating under a belief that they are winning enough to avoid compromise, even as both quietly seek an exit ramp. This creates a negotiation environment defined less by diplomacy and compromise and more by symbolic meaningless victories. Meanwhile, regional actors, particularly Israel, further inflame the situation by pursuing escalation.