Israeli Airstrikes In Iran Were 'Extraordinary Display Of Capabilities'

The recent Israeli airstrike against Iran "was an extraordinary display of capabilities," declared Israeli commentator Caroline Glick, senior contributing editor of the Jewish News Syndicate, on "Washington Watch" Tuesday. The attack was impressive not for the devastation it caused -- the Biden-Harris administration effectively vetoed an Israeli attack on the most valuable targets -- but for the devastation it demonstrated Israel could bring, she said.

"Israel knocked out Iran's anti-aircraft batteries," listed Glick, "Israel also took out missile launchers, and ... Israel destroyed factories that produce a critical component of Iran's solid-state ballistic missiles," which she said will halt their ability to produce ballistic missiles "at least for the next several months to a year." 

Additionally, "Israel attacked a suspected nuclear site that was located in a sort of dual-use installation," as well as "part of an oil refinery, apparently ... to sort of tip our hand that those can also be struck at will," she continued.

This Israeli airstrike was "quite significant" simply from a logistical standpoint, noted Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. "The distance -- over a thousand miles -- required mid-flight refueling for the fighter jets," he said.

"Israel had to take out -- and has over the last several weeks -- radar facilities in Syria and Iraq so that they could make that flight there." And yet, despite these obstacles, despite targeting the very weapons Iran deployed to counter fighter aircraft, "every plane came home," Perkins observed.

The Israeli airstrike was also notable for its political independence, Perkins added, with "Israel having to go on their own ... while the Biden-Harris administration was almost tying one hand behind their back."

Glick agreed, "The dimensions of the strike, the expanse of the strike, and the strategic significance of the strike are even more impressive because the Biden-Harris administration made very clear that they did not want Israel to take any actions that might destabilize the Iranian regime or deny it the ability to go forward with its nuclear weapons program and its oil exports."

While Israel largely refrained from attacking Iran's nuclear and oil capabilities, Glick said, "they did hit enough to signal to Iran that they could have hit these critical targets like the nuclear sites." These objectives "were accomplished despite the Biden-Harris administration's best efforts to undermine that strike ahead of time, including, as you know, leaking intelligence about Israel's operational plans," she declared.

Based on the military supremacy Israel demonstrated, "it may very well have been a completely different strike," suggested Glick, "had it not been for the Biden administration, actively, openly forbidding Israel to do such things."

Glick found an analogy to communicate the amount of success Israel's air force achieved. "Israel basically kicked down the door of ... Iran's house and started walking through it and then went home," she described. "And the door is gone now."

"Israel will be able to operate there freely because they don't have an anti-aircraft shield," explained Glick. "If we attack again, will be able to just hover over any city, basically, in Iran that that we need to, in order to attack the targets that we need to take out -- whether it's oil infrastructure, whether it's nuclear infrastructure, or regime targets."

"Not only did they knock the door down, but they left the guard dog toothless," exclaimed Perkins, extending the analogy. "This was quite significant, and not just in and of itself, but what it could prepare the way for."

Yet Israel may not be out of the woods yet, Glick advised. "Iran is in a tricky position because they look extremely weak. Israel carried out three waves of attacks, over a three-hour period in Iran -- all over the country -- and they couldn't stop it," she analyzed. "Their terrorist proxies, that were supposed to be their deterrent force -- they didn't even respond after Israel attacked Iran because they're decimated. And Iran itself just looks so vulnerable."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimated Tuesday that Hezbollah's rocket and missile capabilities are now roughly 20% of what they were when Hamas launched the current war on October 7, 2023.

The Iranian regime wants "to demonstrate that they're not a toothless tiger. And so they have every incentive to attack," concluded Glick. However, she added, "I doubt they're going to do it before the U.S. elections because they don't want to harm Kamala Harris's chances at the ballot box."

Originally published at The Washington Stand