New Delhi, March 18 -- Beneath the stated justifications of any war in history-righteous causes, nuclear threats, regime changes-the bedrock truth is the same. Conflict is and has always been a quest for resources. The Iran war is merely the latest chapter. What distinguishes it is not the violence itself, but what has been abandoned to prosecute this war.

The blitzkrieg delusion: Heady after the one-sided bombardments of Gaza and Tehran and kidnapping of a sitting head of state, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have convinced themselves that similar tactics would crush Iran within hours. Three weeks into an ever-enlarging conflict, that figment has been brutally dispelled.

Consider what Iran r...