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| Downed Iranian missile in the Dead Sea |
Hezbollah has congratulated Tehran on its attack on Israel, saying it "achieved" its military objectives."Hezbollah presents its congratulations... to the leadership" of Iran and its people for the "unprecedented" attack on Israel, the powerful Lebanese group said in a statement.Hezbollah also praised Tehran's "brave and wise decision to respond firmly to the Zionist attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus".The Islamic republic launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel from late Saturday, Israel's military said.
It achieved military objectives? How, exactly?
The answer is the same as the answer to this question posed by a supposed expert, Richard Haass, on Twitter/X (and later in a more extensive interview in Politico):
At first glance reported Iranian attacks on Israel violate Napoleon's dictum "Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake." This will change the narrative and create new support for Israel. All of which raises the question: Why did Iran widen the war at this moment?
People, even supposed "experts," still think that Middle Easterners think like Westerners. They project their own logic onto people whom they have little in common with.
Iran's objective wasn't military. It was psychic. It needed to restore its "honor."
Just reading Iranian media shows this. They are congratulating themselves on the few missiles that made it through Israel's defenses. And now they are bragging that Israel's defenses are not "impenetrable," which no one ever said.
Honor is the coin of the realm in the Middle East. And honor, almost by definition, includes lying in order to avoid shame.
Iran has to claim victory. Even if Israel has stopped 100% of the projectiles, today's headlines in Iranian media would be about the amount of effort and time and money Israel spent, how it relied on other allies and couldn't defend itself alone, how this was one of the biggest attacks in history. They would be trying to ascribe honor to themselves and shame to Israel.
Facts don't matter. The results were of little importance, as long as Iran can twist facts to claim victory.
Just like Egypt in 1973. Just like Hamas in all previous Gaza wars. The facts don't matter because honor is the point, military victory is secondary.
The entire Middle East conflict is an attempt by Middle Eastern Muslims to erase the shame of a small number of weak, dhimmi Jews defeating them in 1948 and 1967. If you want a root cause, that's it.
People who do not understand the importance of honor and shame to Israel's enemies cannot possibly be Middle East experts.
Once you understand the honor/shame dynamic, you realize that the only real solution is Israeli victory that cannot be denied. This is why Muslims are deferential to Christian-majority Europe - because they lost to them, definitively. That is the reason Bahrain and the UAE wanted peace - they realized Israel isn't going anywhere.
Undisputed Israeli strength is the only peace plan that makes sense. Unless you want another Holocaust.
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