Despite nervously watching the Israel-Iran war for over a week, the world was stunned last Saturday when the United States quietly and stealthily delivered a devastating bombing attack on Iran’s most hardened high value nuclear weapons facilities. Operation Midnight Hammer was executed brilliantly and flawlessly; American forces dropped their ordnance and were gone before the Iranians even knew what hit them. Thankfully, no Americans were harmed, and so far, the Iranian response has been mostly blustering but overall ineffective and weak.

In our chaotic, dangerous unpredictable world, circumstances are typically difficult and decisions are usually tough, but true leaders face brutal reality head-on and make tough decisions in a timely manner. Variously cheered and jeered for his bold action, Trump made persistent protracted diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with Iran, but once it was clear Iran was stalling and not committed to good faith negotiations, he took prompt impactful action.

Taking military action and committing American blood and treasure is always a huge decision, so there should be vigorous debate and pointed questions. Support and opposition are bipartisan with factions in both parties on both sides of this issue. Some have genuine Constitutional concerns and international affairs worries, but too many are just engaged in bitter partisan backbiting and self-serving grandstanding with no real points.

A sober examination of the situation shows Trump’s decision to act was correct and courageous but also perhaps inevitable. Iran has been at war with the West since the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution when they embarrassed President Jimmy Carter by holding 52 American Embassy workers hostage for 444 days. Iran and its proxies have been attacking, maiming, and killing Americans for over 40 years from Beirut to Baghdad, so their record is consistently antagonistic and vicious.

Particularly focused on Israel and America, Iran has never wavered from their primary goal and sworn a vow to annihilate all Jews and destroy Israel and America. Iran has been the leading exporter of terrorism for almost half a century, and they have been persistent in swearing death to Israel and America. Laughably lying to the world that their nuclear weapons program was for peaceful energy, Iran has been brazen and clear that they would attack Israel with nuclear weapons as soon as they get one, so it would be insane and irresponsible to allow these crazy clerics to ever get a nuke.

Iran’s Mullahs are not just religious fanatics; they are malicious madmen, so it’s obvious they can never be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction. We don’t let kids and nuts play with loaded guns, so radical Islamic Jihadists cannot play with nukes. Iran is not a rational actor, so stopping them should be simple logic. However, it took the audacity and integrity of President Trump to make this somewhat overdue tough decision. Israel gets big credit for setting the stage.

Trump and his cabinet deftly isolated Iran. Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have been largely neutered. Remember the high-profile trips to the Middle East a few months ago with a lot of camels and dancing? Trump was securing Arab tacit cooperation. Notice the Arab states have been strangely silent, but some also quietly allowed Israel to use their airspace to bring Iran to heel. Iranian allies, China and Russia, have only mustered tepid support.

Other than China, Russia, and North Korea, no one on the planet wanted to see Iran obtain nuclear weapons except President Barack Obama. Obama resented Israel as too dominant in the Middle East, so he believed a strong and nuclear armed Iran would be a counterweight to Israel and thereby establish a balance of power that fosters peace. Balance of power models have sustained some international stability, but it only works when all players are rational and share a modicum of common values and some integrity.

Obama insisted on the Iranian Nuclear Deal to give Iran a path to nuclear weapons, but that was not enough. Obama eased sanctions and even appeased Iran with about $1.7 billion in cash delivered on pallets during the night. Wanting a Muslim nation to stand against the Jewish nation, Obama’s policies were to hamstring Israel and give a leg up to Iran. The first Trump term almost thwarted that misconceived policy, but Biden almost restored Iran with their inaction and leniency. Trump has finally ended Obama’s absurd notion to seek parity between Israel, our biggest ally, and Iran, our biggest enemy, in the Middle East. Make no mistake, from Carter to Obama and Biden, Democrats created this mess, but Trump is cleaning it up.

Americans are certainly war weary and wary of getting mired in another protracted conflict, so they are rightly concerned and skeptical. Trump is obviously sensitive to what’s best for America and what worries Americans; that’s why Trump agonized over the final decision and has been precisely measured in every step. He restrained Israel for 60 days while he made a last-ditch diplomatic push, but on day 61, Israel let fly with an extremely successful campaign. Quickly achieving air supremacy, Israel exposed Iran as much weaker than expected.

With Israel delivering a severe beat-down, Trump gave Iran another chance when European diplomats pleaded with Iran to return to negotiations; Iran flatly refused. Again, with Israel successfully shaping the battlefield, Trump acted swiftly to take the kill shot on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The world gasped and Democrats howled in fear of Iran’s certain retaliation. They did, but they are demonstrably weakened and have few options left.

Iran has no effective air force or navy, and their army has no one to fight except their own people. Iran is thankfully running out of missiles and their proxies are out of resources, but because of Biden’s irresponsible open borders, we don’t know how many Iranian terrorists slipped into our country the past four years. We surely have a real threat from Iranian sleeper cells, so the FBI and DHS are working overtime to find them.

In international affairs, no strategy is a sure thing and any approach is fraught with risks, but finally we have a president willing to face real problems head on and act. While many are still worried about war, Trump achieved his goal of obliterating Iran’s nukes and promptly called for a ceasefire – he didn’t continue for regime change. Trump’s restraint is remarkable, but more notable is Trump’s uncompromising condition that Iran will not have nuclear weapons.

Trump has essentially demanded an “unconditional surrender” from Iran. We have not seen such resolute decisiveness since WWII and that’s the last time we took military action that resulted in lasting peace. The way we defeated Germany and Japan and then made them staunch allies, Trump broke down Iran and is offering them a new start.

Despite early success, it’s not over. The ceasefire is tenuous, and Iran is still recalcitrant, but Trump is giving peace it’s best chance in the Middle East. Israel stands strong and the Arab nations have stood aside, so Iran stands alone with its nuclear ambitions in ruin. Iran has a choice: continue its suicidal pariah path or forsake Islamic extremism to pursue peace and prosperity as a good neighbor. Trump is giving Iran a chance to be great again and now it’s up to the Iranian people, but no matter what Iran does, Trump at this juncture as absolutely made the world safer for now.

America is back! Thank you, President Trump!

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.