The wrong metrics are being used. Stripped of sentiment, the coalition is executing and winning.

By Bryan Brulotte, published by The Epoch Times

In Brief by Probe International

Two weeks into the conflict in Iran, the dominant narrative in Western commentary is already settling into a familiar frame: a rushed war, spiralling escalation, oil shocks, and the spectre of another Middle Eastern quagmire. It is a well-worn script. It is also analytically flawed.

A former officer in the Canadian Armed Forces for four decades, Canadian businessman Bryan Brulotte stresses the focus on sensational headlines misses a clearer assessment when the U.S.–Israeli campaign is evaluated through classical military metrics.

By the standards of capability degradation, loss of initiative, and strategic isolation, Brulotte asserts the coalition is systematically dismantling Iran’s core instruments of power, demonstrating observable progress rather than conjecture or failure.

“War is never clean, is often poorly communicated, and is always contested in the court of public opinion,” observes Brulotte, but stripped of sentiment, the coalition is executing and winning.

Critics, he argues, have misread developments like the closure of the Strait of Hormuz or continued proxy actions by Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, and Houthis as signs of failure or widening war. In reality, says Brulotte, these reflect Iran’s wasting assets and a fragmented proxy network losing central coordination, further isolating Tehran economically. He points to Iran’s restriction of the Strait of Hormuz only for the U.S. and its allies as a sever to its own “economic lifeline,” particularly in relation to China. Exposed to supply disruptions and price surges despite Iran’s favor, the war is forcing Beijing to “reassess its reliance on unstable partners.”

From a Canadian perspective, Brulotte argues industrial capacity, defense readiness, and alliance credibility are crucial for national relevance, making active engagement a must.

“In a world where power is once again being contested in material terms,” he writes, “Canada cannot afford to remain a bystander.”

Read this commentary in its original form at the publisher’s website here.