we'll see

Submitted by David (United States), Dec 14, 2022 at 15:34

Most informed analysts in the subject agree with all the assessments here. What is appalling to me, is the lack of seriousness, generally, in the Israeli political system right now. There is every reason to anticipate, or at least prepare, for the reality that the country will need to launch a military operation against Iran's nuclear program imminently. This calls for national unity, and for a de-prioritization of all kinds of disputes on domestic issues that are worthy and valid, but nowhere near the importance of the existential threat of a nuclear arms race in the Mideast. This is not, for example, the time for the opposition in Israel to outrageously speak of trying to stir mass anarchy by "putting a million people in the streets" because they lost an election, as former PM Ehud Barak disgracefully warned he would attempt to do in advance of the election if his favorites were to lose, and as another former Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkott, echoed a week ago. Israel needs to be prepared to face a war. There is no good time for a civil war, but the worst of all times is when the country faces threats of the severity it now faces both from within and without. This is a test of the country's capacity to exhibit a basic survival instinct.
It seems quite reasonable to assume that the brutal regime in Tehran will survive for the foreseeable future, even as we all hope for its demise. Those of us who care about the future of Israel must understand the urgency of the moment, and the fact that at the end of the day, Israel likely can only rely upon itself for its defense, as was the case in 48 and in every single war since. The general indifference of the American Jewish community to this danger, and the lack of mobilization of support for Presidents and candidates for the Presidency who are prepared or may exhibit signs of openness to deal with this danger, is doubly appalling and incredible. The existence of Israel cannot be taken for granted, nor can the importance of its existence for the survival of the American Jewish community itself, be dismissed. And yet, it too often, amazingly, is entirely disregarded, including by former leaders of the American Jewish commentariat who once attached some significant importance to the threat of Islamist terrorism, both on the part of non-state actors and on the part of states. Present company excluded. I am thinking rather of the "neo-Cons" who threw the weight of their support behind Biden, and have hardly displayed even a hint of an interest in the subject, and seemed entirely indifferent to the efforts by the Democratic party to limit former President Trump's war powers precisely when it appeared he was, perhaps, liable to take action following the killing of Soleimani.

It is good to finally see an awareness of reality, on the part of at least ONE American Jewish member of the foreign policy commentariat in the United States. Indeed it is much too optimistic to assume that the Iranian regime is imminently going to collapse. Perhaps it will, but more likely, as with the majority of totalitarian regimes facing protest, it will brutally crush them and survive in the interim....

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