Like all marriages of convenience, the individual members of Tehran’s network of terrorist groups have divergent interests and objectives. Apart from their utility to Iran and their enmity towards Israel, the United States and the West, the only trait they seem to share is their narcissistic main character syndrome.
Hamas thought it was the protagonist in the story. The psychopath Yahyah Sinwar, top planner of October 7 and now Hamas’s political leader, believed that the attack would tank Israel’s historic normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. That it would bring about the death of the Jewish State of Israel and the birth of the Islamic State of Palestine. Though millions of people believed him, he was wrong. All Sinwar did was bring death and destruction to the people whose interests he claimed to represent.
Hezbollah also thought it was the protagonist in the story. Terror group leader Hassan Nasrallah, isolated in his bunker and surrounded by yes-men, believed his own propaganda. That Israel was shaking in fear. That Israelis had their suitcases packed and would flee abroad at a moment’s notice. That he would liberate Jerusalem and pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Though millions of people believed him, he was wrong. All Nasrallah did was bring death and destruction to the people whose interests he claimed to represent.
From the Israeli perspective, Hamas and Hezbollah are not the main characters in the story. Israel and Iran are. One will do what it must to obtain nuclear weapons. The other will do what must be done to prevent that from happening.
With the lessons from the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s in mind, Tehran needed to insulate itself from external threats. Unlike Jerusalem, Iran was unable to procure modern air defence systems or a sophisticated air force. Thus, it invested billions of dollars into building a network of militias across the Middle East for the past four decades. This projected Iranian power and kept regional adversaries like Saudi Arabia and Israel busy.
Despite knowing that Tehran is on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon, it seems that the international community — led by the United States — has done its utmost to delay Israel’s victory and save the Iran-backed terrorist groups from total defeat. To say that the international community has constantly moved the goalposts is an understatement.
“Don’t enter Rafah, because there is no way to avoid civillian casualties in an urban area so dense!”
“Don’t take control of the Philadelphi Corridor, because Egypt will withdraw from its peace treaty with Israel!”
“Don’t escalate the conflict with Hezbollah, because that will violate the rules of engagement and prompt the Lebanese terrorists to destroy Israel!”
Though the long list of excuses and roadblocks goes on and on, Israel dispelled every myth. It steamrolled through every fake “red line” imposed by the international community and its professional escalation managers. Only to be rewarded with victory after victory after victory.
Though it may appear counterintuitive that elements of the U.S. government would restrain their closest ally in the Middle East, it is not surprising to those who understand the thinking that drives many of the mediocre and risk-averse doves who influence policy in Washington (the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)).
I’m old enough to remember when Barack Obama, as president, sought to alter both Washington’s reputation and its role in the Middle East. Americans weren’t liked. China was on the rise. The missions to Iraq and Afghanistan were expensive and unpopular. So, he and his circle of advisors concluded that Washington should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq. Obama wanted the U.S. to pursue its interests and project power in the Middle East through understanding instead of strength, which would provide stability and prosperity.
Then the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011. Bashar al-Assad, the Iran- and Russia-backed butcher of Damascus, crossed Obama’s red line regarding chemical weapons. While the CIA spent billions arming the rebels, it seems the White House and State Department still did their utmost to save Assad. That war ended in a stalemate, Syria is a failed state. U.S. policy was weak and ineffective.
Then the Yemeni Civil War broke out in 2014. Once upon a time, the Americans helped both the Yemeni government and Iran-backed militias to fight al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. When the Yemenis were done waging war on the terror organization and overthrew the government, the Saudis and Emiratis spent a decade fighting the Iran-backed militias. That war ended in a stalemate, Yemen is a failed state. U.S. policy was weak and ineffective.
Then the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) emerged. Washington re-deployed U.S. soldiers to Iraq. It also trained, armed and strengthened Iran-backed militias to help defeat ISIL. While the war against ISIL in Iraq ended in victory, those same Iran-backed militias have since turned their guns against Washington and its Kurdish partners. They have also smuggled weapons to other Iranian militias in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, making life difficult for Israel.
Washington has spent the better part of a decade enforcing a delicate balance of power as a biased referee. The U.S. favours its allies, but it doesn’t favour them enough to help them achieve victory.
One side of this balance of power, the American-aligned bloc, includes the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria. Members of this group do not fight each other.
The other side of the equation is Iran’s “Axis of Resistance.” This includes non-state actors such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, Saraya al-Ashtar in Bahrain, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen as well as the Assad regime in Syria.
Nearly one million people have been killed in the wars between these two blocs since Obama sought to pursue U.S. interests in the Middle East through understanding instead of strength. Millions more have been displaced. Lebanon, Yemen and Syria have become failed states hijacked by Iran-backed terrorist groups. Iraq is not that far behind. Don’t even get me started on Libya.
Whether with America’s blessing or not, Israel has finally taken matters into its own hands. The Jewish state, endowed with a great memory, a long arm and many scores to settle, is decimating Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance.” Hamas collapsed like a house of cards just like Lebanese Hezbollah will. Rest assured, the day will come when the Assad regime in Syria and the Islamic Republic of Iran do too.
Stop prolonging the suffering. Do the right thing. Stand with Israel as it breaks Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” and remakes the Middle East.
National Post
George Monastiriakos is a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa. Follow him on X @monastiriakos.