admin
Sunday on Wake Up America Weekend, foreign-policy voices Walid Phares and Robert Wilkie laid out a clear argument for why President Trump’s choice to hold off on immediate strikes against Iran was not weakness but a calculated move in a larger strategy. Both men stressed that a pause can be leverage when wielded by a commander-in-chief who is willing to use force if diplomacy fails.
Robert Wilkie warned viewers bluntly that the five-day postponement of strikes looks less like indecision and more like a classic military screen to reposition forces and conceal operations. He argued the pause is designed to mask the movement of Marines and special operations units into position to secure the Strait of Hormuz and restore freedom of navigation, a decisive step that would choke off Iran’s ability to disrupt global energy flows.
Walid Phares put the policy in strategic context, describing a two-track approach that pairs tough military pressure with diplomatic openings so Tehran faces hard choices: negotiate or face escalating consequences. That’s exactly the sort of disciplined, results-oriented statecraft Americans elected a leader to execute—diplomacy backed by credible force, not empty rhetoric.
Phares also reminded the audience that Iran’s leadership, particularly Ayatollah Khamenei, is out of touch with reality and will respond to strength, not pleas; he urged targeted pressure on the Revolutionary Guard and militia units that crush dissent and export terror. Conservatives should welcome a strategy that protects Iranian protesters and punishes the regime’s brutal actions without needlessly destroying civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, critics in the legacy media tried predictably to paint the holdoff as capitulation, but to think that is to misunderstand sound military planning. Even outlets reporting the president’s restraint noted that Trump personally ordered a halt to new strikes at times, showing he is exercising tight control over military options while keeping Tehran off balance.
Let this be clear to Tehran and to Americans: restraint from a position of strength is not surrender. Secure the strait, protect our allies, and back our commanders—those are the hallmarks of responsible leadership, and the country that shows resolve will win. The president’s measured posture, amplified by hawkish voices who know the theater, sends precisely the message Iran needs to hear: we mean business.
