Elliott Abrams

Thank you.

It's my pleasure.

Right now, I'd say it's a draw.

It's a war, so you can't say it doesn't matter who's winning or that it's wrong to think about winning.

But it seems to me that there's a lot of damage done to Iran militarily and economically and to its leadership.

They do have this asset of the state of Hormuz, but I really don't think they're going to be able to keep hold of that asset for very many more days.

I don't think they've gained anything.

I think they've lost a lot.

Not only in the war directly, but they've gained, if you will, the hatred of their Gulf Arab neighbors.

They've gained one thing, I guess, which is they've been able to show that they have the ability, at least for a while, to close the Strait of Hormuz, which people hadn't thought much about before.

A lot.

First, money.

It has cost billions of dollars.

I don't know the correct number, but maybe tens of billions of dollars.

Secondly, a blow to our economy, at least temporarily, through the rising gas prices.

Third, and this is not a necessary element of the war, but it's happened because of the president's handling of the Europeans.

It has cost us a significant downturn in our relations with our European allies.

And it has left a feeling, I think, around the world of unreliable leadership in the United States.

No, I think, you know, you can make an argument that secrecy required that we'd be quite circumspect in talking to allies.

I think it's more the way in which the president and other secretary of war spoke about the war.