Granted, Iran is no friend to the U.S. and might even qualify as a modest adversary. Its nuclear ambitions should continue to be thwarted, as most reports indicate they are.

Still, what Washington desperately needs right now is some perspective and an honest conversation about the realities of the Middle East. Not alarmism. The last thing the overstretched U.S. military needs is another hot war. It's already pretty busy. President Obama bombed seven countries in 2016, and President Trump has continued apace.

There's reason to worry. Trump, who ran on an eminently reasonable platform of disengagement from "dumb" wars in the region, quickly pivoted to a hawkish stance on the Islamic Republic. In December, when protestors hit the streets of Tehran based on mostly economic motives, Trump immediately rallied in support and not-so-subtlety tweeted "Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever." Except, that is, for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other illiberal authoritarian regimes we support.