Netanyahu tells Israel ‘We are at war’ after Hamas launches an unprecedented attack, killing at leas

Fair enough. But there are legitimate criticisms of this Administration for its naïve engagement of the Iranian regime as if it is just another country we can strike deals with. If the last few days have not blown the scales off your eyes of who they are, then I’m afraid your judgement is beyond repair. I understand the need to cover ass on this one to a certain extent, as long as privately we are all telling ourselves no more deals with that disgusting regime.

 

Wut why can’t a first world country take care of their own? Your post is an offensively insinuating POS .

 

Absolutely. Although it's been 50 years the closest analogy is the 1973 Yom Kippur war. That war marked the end of Golda Meir's political career. While it's extremely unlikely that the same fate will befall Bibi he is much less secure now politically than he was prior to Hamas attack.

 

Meir worried about defeating the enemy first and her political hide second. Hopefully, Netanyahu will do the same.

 

Nothing to give it a rest over. I prefer a charity doing legitimate work to a corrupt government fleecing the rest of the world

 

I agree. As I said earlier, Israel took their eye off the ball over the last couple of years. Netanyahu needs to get them re-focused.

 

It’s hard to find anything uplifting in this dispute so far, but here is a neat thread. As a 61 yo feeling his limitations, this is super impressive. Yair Golan, amazing

 

Great thread. Not Jewish so I cannot fully relate but I mostly share these sentiments

 

I think that we also need to honest about the fact that we are missing ambassadors in important regions, military leadership positions are currently vacant (I believe the Fifth Fleet and the #2 At CENTCOM), we have no SOH, and who knows what intelligence info leaked out of Maralago’s bathroom.

And you’re correct, Iran can never be trusted. Neither can we trust Russia or China, ever.

 

What probably ended Meir's political career was her decision against the advice of some of her cabinet members not to launch a preemptive attack against Egypt and Syria similar to that of 1967. Israel actually had intelligence that an attack was a very real possibility probably through aerial photographs of troops massing for a possible invasion. Meir was concerned over the political optics of a preemptive strike and believed that Israel would have little problem defeating Egypt and Syria if they did attack. Tragically the Bar-Lev line, a barrier along the Suez that was supposed to stop the Egyptian Army literally crumbled. Portions of the barrier was made of sand and the Egyptians were able to defeat it using the rather low solution tech solution of high pressure water cannons. After breaching the sand barriers they overwhelmed the hardened steel and concrete positions along the line.

 

European Commission temporarily suspending and evaluating all aid. I have some reservations about this depending on how it is applied. All aid to West Bank Palestinians should remain and Gazans that under Hamas may also suffer. But the civilized world must exclude Hamas.

https://x.com/OliverVarhelyi/status/1711362068056613294?s=20

 

I don’t share that categorical view of Iran. Plenty of deal making has worked, plenty of interest in deal making. Just takes a lot of work and care. Jeffrey Lewis has a great new podcast series on the general subject of limited deals with enemies, including Iran and DPRK. His subject matter expertise is nuclear nonproliferation

The Reason We’re All Still Here

 

Yes, there is. You’re the guy on December 9, 1941 saying “That’s what you dumbasses get for cutting off the flow of their oil.” Unlike many Americans, I feel it’s just and appropriate to criticize Israel and its lobby for unfair practices and unequal application of U.S. law. But now is hardly the time. Let Israel justly defeat its enemies with our material support. And later we can discuss what a fair measure of that support should be and what are fair means for Israel to lobby for support.

 

It’s one thing to claim you’re fighting for a cause, what kind of people drag bodies to the streets and desecrate them, all the time whooping and hollering. That’s some seriously sick people!

 

I read a book on the 73 War maybe 20 years ago, so memory may be off. But strong recall that the IDF was surprised by unrealized advances in Egyptian military capabilities, specifically bridging technology that allowed crossing in an hour rather than 24 hours. The Bar Lev line was also implemented on the presumption of 24 hour notice. Also, Sagger 7 SAM batteries which initially neutralized the Air Force.

Feels like a lot of parallels, including cyber capabilities, drones than can take out Merkavas and communications blocking. All still early, but feels very similar

 

Yep. Just wrote a paper on that decision for the school I’m in. Coincidentally, it was due last week. Militarily, hitting first would have been the right decision. In terms of world support, it was more important that Israel not be labeled the aggressor again as it was in 1967, and the lands it took in that war enabled it to absorb a first blow. Personally, I think in the long view of history Meir made the right call that day, though, I would have been frustrated as one of her generals.

 

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Horrible.

 

They really poked the hornets nest this time. Israel is about to go scorched earth and its justified in this instance.

 

Irony: Hamas blowing up Israeli tanks and helicopters with TOW missiles bought from Ukraine.

 

On your first point, not really. All of those positions are in fact filled and competent people are there making the decisions. The ship is manned, so to speak. That doesn’t change the fact to your actual point that a minority should not have the power to obstruct necessary appointments that keep the day-to-day business of government running. I agree there.

I’m not sure I agree about putting China and Russia in the same category as Iran. We certainly can’t keep playing a realist game with any of the three by liberal international rules (because they aren’t playing by those rules), but I think Iran is in a category of its own as a rogue state. It doesn’t matter what kind of deal you strike with Iran’s general government, the IRGC is not bound by it and does whatever it wants anyway.