The US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003 underlined the dangers of “regime change” wars. But those operations look meticulously planned, compared to the current US and Israeli assault on Iran.
In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the US and its allies were prepared to deploy ground forces — first to overthrow the government and then to restore order and oversee a transition to a new political system.
The loss of American lives in the Afghan and Iraq wars — and the subsequent failure of nation building — seems to have convinced Donald Trump that it would be folly to put US soldiers on the ground in Iran. But that means that Trump is now committed to a process for which there is no real precedent: regime change brought about by air power alone.