WhatsappIt is truly remarkable to note how many of the things outlined in this joint speech from nearly 8 years ago have turned into a reality today. Things are still unfolding. But to put it mildly, the times – they are a changin’.
Had it only been Hamas that went from a massive pain in Israel’s backside that brought calamity on Israel on Oct. 7th to a mild annoyance that Israel disarmed and brought down from power, that would have already been a major achievement. But Israel bounced back in a major way – largely due to the bravery of the young soldiers in the field who literally gave their lives for the good of the entire Jewish Nation – and defeated both Hamas and Hizbullah.
Israel’s enemy to the North, Hizbullah, was feared much more than Hamas, but the massively decapitating beeper operation coupled with the bravery of ground soldiers and truly effective sustained bombing attacks on Hizbullah’s weapon depots changed everything. From a well armed terror group with 150,000+ missiles facing Israel, Hizbullah has become a leaderless and tremendously weakened terrorist group. At the same time, Israel’s retaliatory attack on Iran that weakened Iran’s defenses began what looks like Israel’s plan to chop off the head of the snake.
What has surprised nearly everybody though is how the fall of Hizbullah so rapidly led to the fall of the Syrian dictatorship. Syria’s Assad has effectively stayed in power for decades while ruthlessly killing hundreds of thousands in one of the most brutal Civil Wars ever. What basically has occurred though is that Syria was able to hold on due to the military backing of Hizbullah and Iran. With both of them so weakened, the groups of Syrian rebels were able to finally wrestle control from Assad. All of the groups may hate each other, but they all hate Assad more than anything, and unified to drive him from Damascus. Everybody in the region, except for Iran and perhaps Iraq, is happy to see Assad go.
Israel is now poised to not only attack Syria’s offensive military capabilities, but also to attack Iran once and for all. It may happen on Biden’s watch or in the first days of the 2nd Trump administration. But it will happen. Netanyahu knows that he will either be remembered as the longest serving Prime Minister who allowed October 7th to go down on his watch. Or he will be remembered as the longest serving Prime Minister who rebounded from the calamity of October 7th to lead Israel to a resounding victory that brought peace to Israel for generations. He does not want the former.
With every passing day, it is looking more and more like Netanyahu will truly go down as the Churchill of the 21st Century who along with Donald Trump has led the Middle East and Israel towards a prosperous and peaceful future.
