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1980s. The great 19th-century naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan argued, “Control of the sea by maritime commerce and naval supremacy means predominant influence in the world.” This was the experience of the British, and has been ours for a long time. “The necessity of a navy,” Mahan also said, “springs from the existence of peaceful shipping and disappears with it.”

In the Strait of Hormuz right now, peaceful shipping has largely disappeared, while we are deploying a mighty navy. If our forces can’t restore free navigation, it will represent a significant failure of a traditional pillar of U.S. power.

Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.

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