No one is forcing Iran’s dictators to remain dictators. They could become benevolent leaders or simply flee the nation. Israel gains relatively little from creating a power vacuum in Iran that will likely just be filled by another Israel-hating regime. They gain much more by destroying Ming the current regime’s ability to attack Israel.
LOL, advocating for targeted strikes against military targets in nations already hell-bent on the destruction of the U.S. and its allies isn't warmongering, it's simply acknowledging that we have to fight back against those who are actively striving to harm us.
And I, specifically am the reason "the vast majority of people on earth hate America and Americans?" What a joke. Get out of your little Anti-American bubble.
Your argument is refuted by the existence of plenty of other non-terrorist-supporting, non-dictatorship-led, non-oppressive, non-nuclear nations in the world that the U.S. isn't fucking over in the manners you describe.
I'll give Iran all of that; still doesn't make it a smart move. This is just a sad attempt at trying to distract the world from the fact that it was largely ineffective and mainly just served to give Netanyahu an excuse to escalate this conflict even further, and in Iran's direction. I'm sure Iran's nuclear scientists and engineers are all in agreement that this was "totally worth it!"
They can absolutely stop; they just choose not to. And hamstringing their attempts to develop their nuclear program is a far better option than trying to topple their government in terms of maintaining stability in the region. Toppling the Iranian government would make every other Arab nation skittish and potentially be a rallying cry for them. Keeping their military options limited is far less incendiary.
Something Cohen doesn't address is what getting the U.S. directly involved in a war with Iran would look like so close to Election Day in the U.S. It could hurt Harris' chance for victory, and I would argue that keeping Trump out of the White House is far more important than taking advantage of a weak moment to hamstring Iran's nuclear program.
However, I do have to say I agree that it would be great if we could somehow deal a heavy blow to Iran that cripples it further both militarily and economically. The article mentions American refueling aircraft improving the strike distance of Israeli attack fighters, which seems like an indirect way to get involved. I'm wondering if American intelligence agencies can cooperate with Mossad to successfully cripple Iran's nuclear program, but they're likely already sharing intel on that front.
At the end of the day, it's imperative the U.S. doesn't get directly involved. I personally would like to see the U.S. give Israel fewer blank checks in the form of raw arms for Netanyahu to use on hospitals and refugee camps, but we should still endeavor to find ways to help Israel hit strictly military and terrorist targets. Destroying Hamas and Hezbollah, and disarming Iran is in the interest of peace in the entire region.
That makes their most recent attack on Israel even stupider. They might have meant it as a face-saving revenge-poke over Israel's attacks on Hezbollah, but they should have known it would just serve as a convenient excuse for Netanyahu to escalate and broaden this war even further. If Israel does use this as an excuse to bomb their nuclear sites, the rest of the world will comfortably shrug their shoulders as it happens, because a nuclear-capable Iran is something no one else in the world wants to see.
I'm not entirely convinced other Arab nations would come to Iran's defense if Israel attacks it. They've been pretty hesitant to respond to Hamas' attempt to ignite a total conflict in the region, which is a very good thing. There's very little chance that the U.S. wouldn't come to Israel's aid if a regional war were to ignite, and everyone in the region knows their combined strength is nowhere near enough to win a war against Israel with the U.S. directly involved. I have hope that the desire for self-preservation will keep the fighting contained. Honestly, the best thing everyone can do now is choose not to fight. Let Bibi's war efforts die out in a sputter so that the Left in Israel can finally get him out of power.
The wise hesitance of these Arab nations to wade into this conflict will likely do more to save the Middle East from disaster than anything else. Refusing to further engage Bibi is the best way to thwart his attempts to prolong this conflict. Hamas' 10/7/23 was a political gift to him. The dissolution of Bibi's government is the best thing for Palestinians, along with the destruction of Hamas.
Hamas is a terrorist group that has made it very clear its objective is the destruction of Israel, stop pretending they're good guys who will stop once Israel stops.
If they’d just call for an equal and just peace none of this would happen.
That's ridiculously naive. Hamas has been attacking Israel for a very long time and they're not going to stop simply because Israel agrees to a ceasefire.
Or stop giving Israel weapons. That’d solve the qhole thing.
No, it wouldn't, because Hamas would just re-arm and commit another Oct. 7th at an opportune point in the future.
Oh, no, he definitely knows he did something wrong. He just knows that if he pushes hard enough, there's a chance he can get away with it. Trump is a psychopath who knows that rules are only as powerful as their enforcement, and he's been weaseling his way by them his whole life.
It was and it wasn't. It was a brilliant move, but Israel also obviously knew there would be innocent bystanders. Overall though, given the amount of damage it did to Hezbollah, I'd say you'd be hard pressed to give Israel a better attack option.
As much as most people in the Middle East would like that, I don't think it's likely to happen. Netanyahu needs this to keep going to stay out of jail and realistically, letting Hamas and Hezbollah reconstitute themselves just gives them time to execute more terrorist attacks, which Israelis have every right to be against.
I don't see this war getting cleaned up neatly anytime soon. The only way I can see it happening is if the U.S. steps in to militarily enforce a two-state solution with a DMZ, which they never will (and for good reason; that would be its own clusterfuck).
I saw it and liked it. It's definitely the weakest of the three in my opinion, though. Nicole Kidman really sticks out like a sore thumb in it; bad casting choice.
No one is forcing Iran’s dictators to remain dictators. They could become benevolent leaders or simply flee the nation. Israel gains relatively little from creating a power vacuum in Iran that will likely just be filled by another Israel-hating regime. They gain much more by destroying Ming the current regime’s ability to attack Israel.