The Pottery Barn Rule of war holds that “if you break it, you own it.” In other words, if the victor “breaks” the country it has been fighting, the victor becomes responsible for the fate of the vanquished nation after the war.
For instance, we are not responsible for opening the Strait. Iran did this. It decided to wage war on the Gulf States. Closing an international waterway is an act of war. We will not be responsible for policing it either.
The Pottery Ban Rule is particularly inapt in our Iran venture, for we largely destroyed things that deserved to be destroyed, were unproductive drags on the domestic economy, and should never be replaced. Jim Dueholm
For instance, we are not responsible for opening the Strait. Iran did this. It decided to wage war on the Gulf States. Closing an international waterway is an act of war. We will not be responsible for policing it either.
The Pottery Ban Rule is particularly inapt in our Iran venture, for we largely destroyed things that deserved to be destroyed, were unproductive drags on the domestic economy, and should never be replaced. Jim Dueholm
Powell had a vastly inflated reputation. I never liked him.
I think we can place the idea of a Pottery Barn rule in the rubbish bin.