On Oct. 1, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched some 181 ballistic missiles at the state of Israel. Most were shot down; those that weren’t fell largely in uninhabited areas. Thanks to the technological and intelligence superiority of Israel and her allies, the Iranian attack — the second such attack in six months — was foiled. As of this writing, the world waits for Israel’s promised response.
The reason for Iran’s attack is obvious: Israel is currently thoroughly destroying Iran’s terror proxies in the region. Since Hamas’ brutal mass terror assault of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has devastated the terrorist group: some 23 of its 24 battalions have been destroyed; its leadership caste has been wiped out, from political leader Ismail Haniyeh (assassinated with pinpoint accuracy in Tehran) to military leader Mohammed Deif (killed in a targeted airstrike) to the missing Yahya Sinwar, Oct. 7 mastermind. Israel has established working military control over virtually all of the Gaza Strip, including the border between Gaza and Egypt, which had been used as a resupply thoroughfare by Hamas. Hamas has been degraded to fighting a low-level insurgency against IDF forces.
Meanwhile, after nearly a year of taking thousands of incoming rockets in its north from the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, Israel finally responded with overwhelming force and competence. First, in a feat of espionage that beggars the imagination, Israel simultaneously exploded the beepers of Hezbollah’s terrorists, wounding or killing thousands of them and wrecking Hezbollah’s methods of communication; then, when Hezbollah attempted to reestablish communications via walkie-talkies, Israel blew those up as well; after that, Israel proceeded to unleash the Israeli Air Force on targets across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut, wiping out the vast majority of Hezbollah’s long-range munitions; finally, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the thoroughly vile United Nations and warned that Israel would no longer be crossed, the IAF dropped a series of bunker busters on the head of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, killing him and more of his top lieutenants. All Hezbollah could do in response was uselessly fire rockets into empty areas of Israel’s north.
Even the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have been firing cruise missiles at Israel, have felt Israel’s wrath: Israel has issued multiple direct strikes at Houthi-controlled ports in a country some 1,800 kilometers away.
Iran’s proxies are on the ropes. This means that the forward operating arm of the Iranian regime has been amputated. And that’s what necessitated Iran’s attempts to strike Israel directly.
This was a major miscalculation.
Israel in the post-Oct. 7 era is not the Israel of before. It is a state unwilling to risk its future on the bet that its enemies will act with reasonable caution. It can no longer afford such bets. And so Israel has set about a mission the West has not pursued in decades: victory. Israel will not back down and cut deals that merely delay the inevitable, buying time for her enemies to arm up. Israel has struck at its enemies and will continue to do so.
And it is working.
The Abraham Accords, negotiated by President Donald Trump’s team, have remained durable. The Sunni Gulf states see that Israel remains the region’s most powerful military and economic force, and will act accordingly to ally with it. Iran has been forced into a defensive crouch, lashing out ineffectually at Israel and America while blustering about its larger-scale ambitions.
But, in an utter inversion of Iran’s ambitions since Oct. 7, Israel has grown stronger. Iran has grown far weaker. The Iranian regime is unpopular; its military has proved itself ineffectual in anything but quashing its own citizenry and facilitating the death of civilians in Iraq and Syria; its terror proxies have f—ed around and found out. And the region will be better off for it.
All of which should remind the West of a simple principle: there is no substitute for victory. Peace results from the credible threat of the use of overwhelming force, not from empty words around glossy tables. A strong and more confident West makes for a better and more prosperous world.
Ben Shapiro‘s new collection, “Facts and Furious: The Facts About America and Why They Make Leftists Furious,” is available now. Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website.
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The nation of Israel has the right to defend themselves. WOE to Iran, the Israeli response will be devastating when it comes.
Never thought I’d be quoting John McCain but “bomb, bomb, bomb. Bomb, bomb, Iran”. Start with that nuclear facility… destroy that and you don’t need your worthless Obama treaty!
GOD is going to directly with the next group of stupid people who start a war with Israel. They will NOT like the outcome of GOD dealing them misery and death.
Israel has every right to exist and defend herself. They did not start this garbage, hamas did. Isreal has bent over backwards to try to keep peace and give Palestinians what they want. If iran, or any other arab nation wants to engage Israel, then they should face the consequences of their actions. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Anwar Sadat knew why he did not allow the Moslem brotherhood to operate in Egypt, unfortunately he died for it.
Right, Ben. In any fight, winning is the goal, or should be. Appeasement has never worked, except to embolden the enemy. Go, Israel!
Article says: “Thanks to the technological and intelligence superiority of Israel and her allies, the Iranian attack — the second such attack in six months — was foiled.” From the physical perspective this is true but from a spiritual level what happens to Israel rings true in Genesis 12: 1-3 where the LORD speaks to Abram (later Abraham) “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
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The US can’t defend itself yet pays billions to Israel.
Widdle Ben, the entitled, undersized Zionist multi millionaire who never saw a Muslim he didn’t insist on his government killing. What a lying sack of crap. The little fellah says, and Iran agreed that some 189 rockets were launched against Israel in retaliation for Israels war crimes one of which was the assassination of the Hezbollah leader in which peace negotiations had be started with. A Zionist group of baby killers can’t have that……not before “Gods Chosen” can steal the entirety of Lebanon and later of course Syria and even Iran…..the evil, greedy scum. And no, this has NOTHING to do with Judaism, it has to do with the ZIonist regime in power in Israel and now, in the US Congress.
Piss on you Shapiro. You are relatively young and appear fit, why don’t you fly to Israel and slaughter some children for Bibi??