Mick Hartley

A pessimistic view of the US/Israeli war on Iran, from Benny Morris in Quillette:

Driven by religious fanaticism—which includes the belief that Allah’s side will ultimately prevail and that martyrdom assures the believers of a seductive heavenly afterlife—and governed by a logic alien to Western thinking, Islamists will not cede to the bombs and guns of militarily superior infidel armies. This is the lesson of the Israeli–Hamas war of October 2023–October 2024 and of the Israeli–Hezbollah war of October 2023–November 2024 and this is the likely upshot of the current conflict. Indeed, most observers believe that if Tehran’s Islamist regime is not toppled and Hezbollah is not demolished, they will recover and re-arm, with the possible help of Russia, North Korea, and/or China, and renew their war against the infidels in which Israel figures as the West’s Middle Eastern outpost. Their resilience has surprised American and Israeli officials.