Trump ignored this clear warning about reckless strikes and the disasters that follow

There is an old warning in foreign policy about the arrogance of power, “If you break it, you own it.”

That principle, popularly known as the Pottery Barn rule, was articulated by Colin Powell in private conversations with President George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Powell, an experienced general turned Secretary of State, was blunt and prophetic. Forcibly removing a government means inheriting responsibility for everything that follows: security, governance, infrastructure, and human suffering.