The moment the first Israeli and American jets hit their targets in Iran, two different realities emerged: one unfolding on the battlefield, and another constructed in news studios and political circles.
Understanding the gap between these two realities is essential to understanding what has actually been achieved by the United States and Israel.
Let’s start with the objective facts, because the critics won’t.
A country of 92 million people spent decades preparing for this confrontation – to no avail. Iran couldn’t mount a real response. Israel and the US moved through Iranian airspace like they owned it. They hit what they wanted, when they wanted. The enemy talked big for years, but when the moment of truth came, they were totally vulnerable.
Minimal damage for Israel
For Israel, the casualty figures also tell the real story. Every pundit who predicted a massacre looks foolish now. Israeli losses were less than a tiny fraction of the lowest estimates. Not one Israeli plane went down.
The damage on Israel’s home front was minimal, and far below the doomsday numbers the experts kept repeating. Every single dark prediction was wrong.
By any honest measure, this is the most successful military campaign Israel has ever conducted. In fact, it may be the most successful campaign of its kind in modern history. But if you listen to the noise, you would think it was a disaster.
The criticism directed at the Israeli government and against the Trump administration – both in Israel and in the United States – contains not an ounce of objectivity. It is politics, top to bottom.
These critics aren’t trying to help the war effort; they’re trying to sink the people in charge. They can’t admit it’s a win because that would mean their rivals, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, succeeded.
It’s a cold trade. A win for the nation is a loss for their party, so they refuse to see or acknowledge it.
Criticism of the media
This isn’t just annoying; it’s reckless. When you push nothing but gloom, and pretend we’re losing, you’re helping the enemy. Tehran can’t win a dogfight, so they’re counting on the critics to win the PR war. Some of these critics know exactly what they’re doing. Their script practically matches the Iranian talking points.
The manufactured hysteria around “war goals” perfectly illustrates this dynamic. Asking for a checklist wasn’t about clarity; it was a trap that would enable the critics to point out one goal or mission that didn’t happen and call the whole thing a failure.
The point of war is simple: You hit the enemy hard, destroy its capacity to fight back effectively, and make sure the enemy can’t hurt you for as long as possible. Putting that in fancy language doesn’t help anyone but the enemy.
America and Israel’s success is unprecedented, albeit there are still some boxes to check. As US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Netanyahu said, “That can happen by agreement or by military action – but it will be achieved. We are ready at a moment’s notice.”
What this war actually accomplished is remarkable. What it exposed – about the enemy’s vulnerabilities and about the cynicism of Israel’s and America’s domestic critics – is equally remarkable.
A win is a win, and the war in Iran is a big one. It’s time to stop pretending otherwise.
The writer is a senior analyst at Acumen Risk, LLC.