OPINION:
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Iran launched the largest attack using drones and missiles in the history of the Middle East on Saturday night, and it was swatted away with relative ease by the superior military technology of Israel, the U.S. and other nations.
Though ultimately a humiliating display of force from the mullahs, the scale of Iran’s attack has helped change the conversation from criticism of Israel over its prosecution of the war against Hamas to one more focused on the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
That tone provides Israel, the U.S., and the West a limited opportunity to deal a crushing blow to Iran, but it will take courage, which is in short supply.
Now is not the time to attack Iran directly. Iran, as a sovereign state, must be treated in accordance with international law, even if its leaders refuse to abide by those conventions. It is, however, time to finally eliminate Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iranian militias in Iraq, among other terrorists who have operated with impunity for decades.
These organizations are soldiers for Iran, and the regime has bet correctly that the U.S. and the West wouldn’t have the stomach to take them out. It’s time to kill the killers.
Since these well-known terror proxies of Iran are not state actors, sovereign nations like Israel and the U.S. have greater latitude to conduct military operations to eliminate them. The territory they occupy and operate from is under their control, not the control of the Yemeni or Lebanese governments, for instance. Like Hamas, these organizations have been responsible for attacking foreign interests and killing countless foreign nationals as they wage their contract jihad on behalf of the Iranian government.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posited several months ago that it would be within the bounds of international law for the U.S. to use military assets in Mexico to track down and destroy the cartels that are themselves international terrorists that are killing Americans every day. Given the Mexican government’s lack of operational control of swaths of its own territory, having ceded it to the cartels, the use of force would be justified.
Finally, wiping out Hezbollah, the Houthis and others in an overwhelming show of force would cripple Iran’s ability to attack Israel and other Middle East interests.
Western ships and planes and precision-guided munitions aren’t just paperweights.
Russia and China will likely not come to the aid of terror groups even if they’re connected to their close ally. Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and others would welcome the ability to eliminate Iran’s proxies and marginalize the regime once and for all.
Though President Biden has refused to do it, choking off the Iranian economy is common sense. Restoring the sanctions and the Trump-era “maximum pressure” campaign needs to happen as well.
But only eliminating the proxies will begin to end the cycle of Iranian violence.
President Biden is, not surprisingly, calling for restraint on the part of Israel. Mr. Biden, who lifted sanctions on Iran, funneled billions to the regime, worked to give them a pathway to a nuclear weapon, and privately assented to last week’s attack on Israel, will likely fail again to rise to the occasion here.
He was an architect of the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal, supported abandoning Iraq to the Iranians, and sought to erase the war on Islamic terrorism from the national discourse.
Mr. Biden will also be worried about domestic retaliatory attacks that will be blamed on his open border policy.
His weak-kneed approach isn’t an anomaly. Many of the other G7 leaders, who likewise supported the Iran nuclear deal, are now also dealing with the results of their own timidity facing both an emboldened Iran and Russia, its close ally.
Some squishy Republicans will say it’s not our fight and blather on about World War III. While some of their arguments may have merit, history has shown their attitude will lead only to more bloodshed.
A surprise coordinated show of overwhelming force in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq is needed. Otherwise, Iran’s reign of terror will undoubtedly continue.
Without taking out these terror groups, there will be little change in the dynamics of the Middle East. We will be back here again and sooner rather than later. The U.S. and Israel cannot allow Iran’s empire of proxies to survive.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax TV and a columnist for The Washington Times.
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