[April 20, 2024] The government of Iran is a bit of an enigma, combining puzzling behavior with emotionally bombastic talk. For those in the West, we often wonder why Iran would attack a nearby country with a superior military, and a will to use that military.
My thinking is that there are two main reasons Iran has stepped up its attacks on Israel. The most significant factor is the Islamic culture, which requires saving face and allows denial of the truth. The second reason is that Iran has the backing of U.S. and Europe, who have sent large sums of money and put the West’s finger on the scale in support of Iran diplomatically. Like it or not, this happens when a leader adopts appeasement as a formal foreign policy. The results are never pretty.
The latest news is that Israel retaliated for the recent massive Iranian attack this past weekend. While the attack is described as limited, the strike’s impact remains limited.
Yonah Jeremy Bob from the Jerusalem Post provides us with some remarks that I think are correct. The unmistakable message from Israel? We chose not to hit our nuclear sites this time, but we could have done worse right here. Israel’s attack on the Iranian airbase at Isfahan was to make it obvious how vulnerable Iran’s nuclear sites are at any time.
On X, Gabriel Noronha tweets out some of the early observations on Israel’s strike on Iran:
- Great to see Israel didn’t let itself be bullied by U.S./European demands at unilateral appeasement.
- The Iranian regime couldn’t defend their airspace. Israel has freedom of operation inside Iran.
- The Iranian regime didn’t have regional help shooting down munitions coming their way either.
- Iranian officials are already downplaying Israel’s attack and claiming they shot down drones. Good – means they’re trying to pretend nothing happened so their response can be weak.
- Great day for the Abraham Accords – the Gulf countries saw their top enemy humiliated by Israel. Good incentive for Saudi to open relations with Israel so they can do more of this.
- Iran sees Israel can strike them with or without U.S. blessing. Bad news for Tehran.
- Israel didn’t think it made sense to take half-measures against Iran’s nuclear program and didn’t touch it today. This shows Israel wasn’t interested in actually escalating, contrary to claims. They wanted to demonstrate dominance and freedom of action. They’ve succeeded.
- No, Israel isn’t starting a war. They’re not escalating either. This is much lower on the escalation ladder than Iran’s assault on Israel. This is a responsible act to demonstrate deterrence.
- We are rapidly seeing how Iranian officials are already downplaying this attack, lying, and saying that nothing has hit them.
This is a good analysis, and I think it hits the right tone. We could quibble about the Israeli attack, but that is for the Israelis to decide. Some wanted no retaliation, and others wanted something more fierce. That is their decision.
While I believe a strong response was necessary, my opinion is based on the observation that Iran’s government is incapable of keeping its citizens informed. The bigger the attack, the harder it would be to keep a secret.
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Excellent article my friend.
BINGO, “On X, Gabriel Noronha tweets out some of the early observations on Israel’s strike on Iran: Great to see Israel didn’t let itself be bullied by U.S./European demands at unilateral appeasement.”
That is the main point, IMHO, that Gen. Satterfield is trying to make overall in this blog post. Israel knows what it needs to do and they should never pay attention to an old geezer with ZERO foreign policy successes under his belt.
Sometimes I wonder what makes the Mullahs of Iran think in their thick skulls. All they have to do is get their country back on track by developing their social systems, educate their citizens, establish a basic law & order society, push their oil production for the maximum benefit, and lend a hand to developing nations. But NOOOOO, they push out their military arm to destroy others. What’ s up with that?
Interesting article, thanks Gen. Satterfield. I know that it is rare that you comment on international affairs, but when you do, it is appreciated.
Len, but when he does, we listen.
The question for ISRAEL was whether to punish Iran for send hundreds of missiles into their country. No one should recommend that Israel do nothing but that is exactly what America did. So sad.
“My thinking is that there are two main reasons Iran has stepped up its attacks on Israel. The most significant factor is the Islamic culture, which requires saving face and allows denial of the truth. The second reason is that Iran has the backing of U.S. and Europe, who have sent large sums of money and put the West’s finger on the scale in support of Iran diplomatically. Like it or not, this happens when a leader adopts appeasement as a formal foreign policy. The results are never pretty.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield sure has it nailed with this comment. Sadly, the West is also sliding down the path where telling the truth is no longer a value.
Paulette, I was going to make a similar comment, so you beat me to it. I agree that we are headed in the wrong direction but it is not because of Joe Biden and his anti-Semitic Democrat Party. The West in general has adopted a pernicious ideology that says that any “oppressed” group is good and saintly and any “oppressor” group is automatically bad and evil. This is what is wrong about the American Democrat Party today and they will have to look at themselves to figure out how to pull themselves out of it or they will take American down with them.
Well said, Paulette and ableist. 👍
New reader to your blog, sir. I like much of what I read. Thank you for your insights. And, I plan to get a copy of your book “55 Rules for a Good life.”
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Gen. Satterfield, thanks for the long overdue article. Too bad that America is now supporting terrorists like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
😁 Too bad the US has fallen so far, so quickly that we can’t any longer influence the world’s good. And, now we can’t even prevent the evil in the world from destroying civilizations. 😁
The “West” pumps billions of dollars into the terrorist state of Iran and Joe Biden is surprised that Israel didn’t like having 300+ ballistic missiles and suicide drones thrown at them. “DON’T” says Biden to both Israel and Iran. BOTH ignored him. We have a weak president and the world knows it. Plus, Joe Biden is a vicious anti-Semite, assuming that he is still in charge of foreign policy. The world is finally figuring out that real leadership can be found anyplace in the world, except in America’s president who has zero ability to control anything whatsoever.