Israel Hands America an Opportunity in the Mideast

Wall Street Journal

8 hours ago

The U.S. faces a consequential choice: take advantage of Israel's audacious attacks on Iran to shepherd a new Middle East into existence, or allow this transformational strategic opportunity to pass. By giving Israel the time it needs to destroy Iranian military capacity, Washington can seize a strategic advantage in Europe and Asia.
Operation Rising Lion is a prime example of Israeli strategic culture. Israel doesn't adapt well to fluid situations, in which it must react on the fly. The Oct. 7, 2023, attacks are a case in point: The Jewish state was frozen for much of the attacks, with individual heroism, not strategic response capacity, driving back Hamas. But when Israel has the time and capacity to plan an operation down to the smallest detail, the results are spectacular, whether the pager/walkie-talkie attack that crippled Hezbollah's leadership, the September 2024 commando raid against an Iranian missile facility in northwestern Syria, the 2007 attack on Syria's nuclear site, or the 1981 strike against Iraq's Osirak reactor.