In the hours that followed U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear targets, the president’s critics devoted themselves to arguing that the attacks had been a tactical failure. Of course, they limited themselves to arguing tactics — whether the strikes could have been marginally more effective given the right intelligence, targeting information, ordnance — because claiming that the operation was a strategic failure would have been a hard sell.
The joint U.S.-Israeli mission cemented America’s relationship with Jerusalem, which has emerged from the wars imposed on it after the 10/7 massacre as the dominant military power in the region. The strikes confirmed that the United States is still willing to defend its interests by imposing costs on bad actors, state and non-state alike, that they cannot easily absorb. They confirmed that America’s tolerance for the diplomatic process has limits and that it will not quietly endure challenges to the geopolitical status quo forever.
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