Israel’s Strategic Win



Israel’s Strategic Win

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/09/israels-strategic-win/679918/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo

Posted by theatlantic

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  1. “From a purely technical view, the rippling blasts of thousands of exploding pagers in the hands of Hezbollah represented an extraordinary piece of sabotage—one of the most remarkable in the history of the dark arts,” Eliot A. Cohen writes. “For Israel—if that’s who was behind the attacks—to have so penetrated the Iranian and Hezbollah supply chain, on such a large scale, and with such violent effect, is simply astonishing. The question, as always, is: To what strategic effect?” 

    Yesterday’s attack may lead to an eruption in the conflict. But it has long been evident that neither Hezbollah nor Iran are currently spoiling for a major fight—if they were, they could have started one at any point over the past several years. A major conflict is also one Israel’s leaders are prepared to undertake, with the backing of much of their populace.

    But this is a strategic win for Israel on the psychological front as well. “Hezbollah members will now be unlikely to trust any form of electronics: car keys, cellphones, computers, television sets,” Cohen writes. “Myth and legend … will magnify Israel’s success in getting inside black boxes no matter how big or how small. An army skittish about any kind of electronics is one that is paralyzed.”

    Iran will have to wonder how Israel penetrated its supply chain so thoroughly, and the ensuing witch hunt will likely be unforgiving. Israel’s silent partners in the region will see the country as a capable ally against Iran. And Israel will have increased its leverage with the United States.

    “Some will no doubt think that this is another reckless Israeli act, or deplore violence as being ineffective, but they are wrong,” Cohen continues at the link in our bio. “All indications are that this was a considered act—and extensive yet focused violence, whether we like it or not, can yield results. By this act, among others, the balance of fear has shifted—however much and for however long—in the Middle East. For Israel, a country dwelling in a very hard neighborhood, that is a good thing.”

    Read more: [https://theatln.tc/GXousbko](https://theatln.tc/GXousbko)

    — Evan McMurry, senior editor of Audience

  2. The really amazing fact is that these types of operations involved only 1 aspect of the Israeli arsenal and capabilities.
    If Israel will combine this type of warfare with an actual military warfare from the type we saw in Yemen, Syria and Iran recently, they can cripple them entirely in relatively short period of time.
    The fact that Hezbollah has 100k rockets in his warehouses means nothing if your whole region is in chaos, you can’t communicate with each other and your fighters keep dropping like flies (not to mention that Israel can actually intercept your rockets).
    If I were Hezbollah/Iran, I would just call it a day and leave Israel alone for the next 20 years.

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