And do we suppose the 4–5 administration has a strategy?

Think … pin ball machine … and the ball bouncing around making noise and lighting up lights. The score goes up but not due to skill unless the player understands the machine and has a strategy to exploit it’s weaknesses.

We also need to remember the point of view of a culture that reveres a martyr. Iran is no real military match for the US but they can inflict some damage and they will revere the next leader and the next citizen that are killed. This will keep them motivated to retaliate even if in limited ways.