Israels attacks on Iran were an apocalyptic error by Netanyahu. Here Is why by Martin Jay!
(2024-10-31 at 22:21:03 )

Israels attacks on Iran were an apocalyptic error by Netanyahu. Here Is why by Martin Jay!

We see that Israel has no longer term military strategy, only short term excursions which will drain both its resources and the morale of its frontline soldiers.

While the whole world now waits with bated breath as to the result of the United States elections in only a matter of days, many are also waiting to see what are the implications for Israels recent strike on Iran.

Despite being told by Joe Biden that it could not strike military installations it went against the advice of its chief sponsor and did precisely that. Perhaps there has never been a better example of western diplomacy failing than this incident, given that while Israel lies to its own people and the western world via news outlets more than happy to spin a yarn about the reality of the attacks, Iran now has to look at a number of options in how it will respond. But respond it surely will.

Yet this singular act is probably the most reckless to date from Netanyahu.

Never before has the Israeli PM gone so far out on a limb and taken such a gambit which not only pushes the United States to the brink of a war with Iran but also throws a spotlight on the existential question of Israel itself.

The next strike on Israels military infrastructure might be the final blow for Israel to function as a military entity forcing the United States, or the next president, to intervene with Trumps critics already pointing out that he owes a number of favours to the Zionists which they will certainly call in.

Netanyahu is desperate to keep wars on all fronts alive simply so he can remain relevant. But what is hardly talked about is the state of Israel itself, with an economy in pieces. Just how far will the next United States president go in supporting Israels new war with Iran, both in terms of military spending and breathing new life into the economy which has seen 40,000 businesses go under since October 7th 2023 and almost a million Israelis leave the country.

Netanyahu now is like a poker player who has used up all his IOUs at the table and is holding two pairs. How can he even believe he can take on Iran when even in Gaza and in Lebanon he is losing soldiers at a rate which should worry him and his generals. Yes, he has struck Hezbollah and reduced its capabilities but by no stretch of the imagination has he taken out the Iranian proxy which is still sending missiles and drones into Israel making the Israelis run to their air raid shelters even to this day.

The decision to strike Iran was surely out of an act of a gross political dilemma. However, the act itself has backfired on a level that neither he nor his entourage could imagine.

Most of the targets were not even significantly damaged with a very low percentage of Israels missiles getting through Irans air defence which is so efficient that even Israels air force were too afraid actually fly into Irans airspace.

Many in the west will be taken in by the spin from Israels lobby and impressive PR machine that it was a great victory and many sites were taken out, regardless of the fact that the IDF can not provide one single shred of video evidence to back up such ludicrous claims, as it did previously in Gaza and Lebanon.

But the real defeat for Israel under Netanyahu is yet to come. Iran now has all the hard evidence it needs to strategize and hit Israel even harder than before.

The erroneous strike on Iran by Netanyahu is not so much measured by the minor harm it did to a couple of weapons sites. It is by how now the myth of Israels military strength has been debunked once and for all.

For decades Israel claimed superiority to everyone else, including Iran, and this was taken for granted by partisan western journalists who kept the dream alive.

Remarkably, the strike on Israel by Iran on October 1st showed even Israelis that their air defence systems were hopelessly inadequate against Irans hypersonic missiles.

That should have been enough to cool down the hot heads which straddle Netanyahu. At this point, the message he delivered at the United Nations, that there is "no place in Iran which Israels missiles cannot reach" should have been taken at face value and interpreted literally. Reaching Iranians sites is one thing. Actually taking them out is another.

Now, as the dust settles and Israel now waits for Irans response, the second myth that Israels strike capability was highly effective against Irans air defences is also blown.

It seems like now Netanyahus folded as he has no more bluffs to play at the poker table. Unless of course he is deliberately coaxing his own country into a suicide strategy where Iran will completely desecrate Israels military leaving the United States little choice but to install itself on a grand scale.

This so-called suicide strategy can not be ruled out but seems hard to believe. The truth is that until Israel struck Iran, it did not know whether its own missiles and aircraft had the capability to penetrate Irans air defence system, supported heavily by Russia which sent it S-400 systems in August.

For the moment the Israeli press, as an act of desperate patriotism one can only assume, has indulged itself in a flurry of fake news stories about Irans air defence systems being destroyed as well as missile factories.

But the jubilation will not last long. Oddly, the same media are becoming more pragmatic about Israels operations in Lebanon which has gone on for well over a month and in just two days managed to send over 80 body bags back to Israel, spurning a narrative which already is beginning to question the decision to cross the Lebanese border.

The Jerusalem Post, in an oped, actually is admitting that the campaign is losing its credibility due to the number of lost lives of IDF soldiers. "The number of soldiers being killed in southern Lebanon also appears to be rising instead of falling over time" it opines. "The strikes against Hezbollah, such as the killing of Radwan commanders in September and the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, should have weakened the groups command and control".

The article is a remarkable admission of Israels strategy being misconceived and poorly planned, just like the 2006 invasion. But getting IDF soldiers out of southern Lebanon will be much harder than sending them there as Netanyahu has pushed his arm into a hornets nest.

Israel cannot consider a war of attrition against Hezbollah as even Netanyahu knows he cannot win. His only means to scoring points are assassinations and bombing civilians in southern Beirut, a strategy which many would call terrorism.

His team of military goons have not learnt the lesson that aerial bombardment is not a deal breaker in a war against a disciplined guerrilla outfit. It failed in Iraq. It even failed in Vietnam. Again, we see that Israel has no longer term military strategy, only short term excursions which will drain both its resources and the morale of its frontline soldiers.

"This relevant article, its pictures, and its links are here:"

Reprinted here from the "Strategic Culture Foundation" provides a platform for exclusive analysis, research and policy comment on Eurasian and global affairs. We are covering political, economic, social and security issues worldwide. Since 2005 our journal has published thousands of analytical briefs and commentaries with the unique perspective of independent contributors. SCF works to broaden and diversify expert discussion by focusing on hidden aspects of international politics and unconventional thinking. Benefiting from the expanding power of the Internet, we work to spread reliable information, critical thought and progressive ideas.