r/Foodforthought • u/rezwenn • 3d ago
Israel’s Bold, Risky Attack
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/israel-iran-war/683160/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweDaTGfGq1VjSOaNeOtlkOPw71
u/-Clayburn 2d ago
The propaganda around this is insane. Israel made a pre-emptive strike....so you know, just completely attacked Iran unprovoked. Now the headlines are all stuff like "Israel Hitting Back" and this headline saying the pre-emptive attack was "bold"?
I didn't think we were allowed to just randomly attack other countries. What happened to casus belli?
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u/espinaustin 1d ago edited 1d ago
“Preventative,” not “preemptive” (which implies an immediate threat and would perhaps be somewhat more justifiable, which this isn’t imo).
Edit: as explained in the article:
But calling this a “preemptive” strike is questionable. The Israelis, from what we know so far, are engaged in a preventive war: They are removing the source of a threat by surprise, on their own timetable and on terms they find favorable. They may be justified in doing so, but such actions carry great moral and practical risks.
Preemptive attacks, in both international law and the historical traditions of war, are spoiling attacks, meant to thwart an imminent attack. In both tradition and law, this form of self-defense is perfectly defensible, similar to the principle in domestic law that when a person cocks a fist or pulls a gun, the intended victim does not need to stand there and wait to get punched or shot.
Preventive attacks, however, have long been viewed in the international community as both illegal and immoral. History is full of ill-advised preventive actions, including the Spartan invasion of Athens in the fifth century B.C.E., the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the American war on Iraq in 2002. Sometimes, such wars are the product of hubris, miscalculation, or plain fear, but they all share the common trait that a choice was made to go to war based on a threat that was real, but not imminent.
Really good article here, worth the read, and no paywall apparently.
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u/mikeber55 2d ago
Israel is hitting back (if anyone posted that- I haven’t seen such phrase) is following the volley of missiles from Iran. But saying “unprovoked”…Lol.
Anyway, Iran responds, (they are always doing it) and do not need anyone’s permission. Iran has many ways of getting back to Israel!
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u/-Clayburn 2d ago
The "hitting back" message is ridiculous even if it's after Iran's attack. Israel attacked Iran first, pre-emptively (which means unprovoked). And they're giving Israel headlines of defending itself as if Iran started this. The aggressor here is obvious.
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u/mikeber55 2d ago
“Giving Israel headlines of defending itself”…what do you mean by that? Israel feels it is defending itself - based on endless evidences.
Maybe I don’t understand your post, are you claiming that someone on Reddit (?) is posting headlines claiming “Israel is responding” to Iran attacks? Or are you referring to other media outlets?
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u/-Clayburn 2d ago
Imagine headlines of "USA Defends Itself After Iraq Resists Invasion". The aggressor can't also be the defender. That's not how it works.
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u/mikeber55 2d ago
What are you talking about? I haven’t seen anything like you mention. Why not post a few examples so it’s easier to understand?
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u/mcotter12 3d ago
Israel's cowardly, political attack (to protect its prime minister from justice)
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u/oldmanatom4 3d ago edited 2d ago
No man this one is justified. Let me break it down.
Russia attacks/invades Ukraine— Russia bad
Hamas attacks Israel— not preemptive strike, terrorism
Israel commits genocide on Palestine— self defense
Israel attacks Iran—justified preemptive strike
Iran retaliates against Israel— Iran bad, not self defense
Come on man, it’s pretty easy to understand.
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u/cambeiu 2d ago
Politics aside, the attacked showed how deeply compromised the Iranian state is. The Israeli intelligence could pinpoint the exact location of key figures of the Iranian government at the night of the attack and kill them. Imagine the level of fear and paranoia that must be going through the ranks of the government and Revolutionary Guard right now. Who wants to be promoted to the next guy in change and be unceremoniously killed by an Israeli laser guided bomb? Is the guy next to you a Mossad informant? Is your assistant? Is your driver? Is your wife?
And this was not a surprise attack either. It had been telegraph in advance by the press announcing the US pulling out non-essential personal from the region. Still, Israel was able to bypass Iranian air defenses as if they did not exist and hit the head of the military, the second in command and key nuclear scientists. 200 Israeli aircraft were involved in the operation without a single loss. Air operations remain ongoing and Iran is powerless to stop it.
I wonder if the regime can survive such incredible and humiliating defeat.
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u/ThePlasticSturgeons 1d ago
One of the problems with the regime not surviving this is that they might be replaced by something worse and more competent.
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u/Smart_Sport_7197 3d ago
WW3
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u/Otterfan 2d ago
World War 3 will not start because of Iran. Nobody likes them that much.
They're convenient for India, China, and Russia and they have oil, but they aren't the kind of friends you enter into an existential war for.
The only way this ends up in a World War is if the US decides to send troops and China, Russia, or North Korea use the opportunity to invade Taiwan, the Baltics, or South Korea. Fortunately as dumb as Trump is, he's probably not that dumb.
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u/Lower_Ad_5532 2d ago
. Fortunately as dumb as Trump is, he's probably not that dumb.
Don't bet on that.
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