The Israeli Attack on Iran Shows that the "Might Makes Right" World has Already Arrived

Israel's latest attack on Iran was entirely unprovoked. Even as American and Iranian diplomats prepared for the next round of nuclear weapons negotiations in Oman, Israeli airstrikes lit up the night sky across the country, hitting not just suspected nuclear weapons facilities, but also government and residential compounds, in a bid to simultaneously damage military hardware but also take out its military, political, and scientific leadership in one fell swoop. The surprise attack was followed by Israeli government announcements that, confusingly, also called on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the regime.

Rather than condemning the blatant attack, the West decided to discreetly and indiscreetly cheer on the Israeli effort. Some media outlets, like The Economist, openly called the Israeli attack justified, as the prospect of Iranian nuclear weapons is an existential threat to Israel, never mind that the same logic can very much apply in reverse, given Israel already openly flaunts its own nuclear weapons. While America was at pains to state that it was not involved in the Israeli attack, plenty of senior politicians, including sitting legislators, called on Israel to finish the job and America to provide necessary resources to help.

As Iran retaliates with missile strikes on Israeli cities, it is difficult to imagine that both sides will simply back off, even with outside pressure. Iran, rightfully, thinks that the ongoing negotiations with America no longer make much sense. The British, and no doubt other European powers, are moving military assets into the region, supposedly to support "regional security," but in reality to assist Israeli war efforts. Iran, with limited options to strike the faraway and well-defended Israeli homeland, will likely damage American interests in the wider region, be it oil flows or military bases, drawing in the superpower.

The asymmetry of this war cannot be more blatant. While plenty of netizens, along with regional stakeholders like Russia and Saudi Arabia, condemned the Israeli attack, the reality is that Iran will not be able to source necessary military support from abroad to undertake a long-term military campaign against the Israelis. And while Israel fears diplomatic isolation and negative public opinion, it has never been more militarily powerful, having decimated all its regional enemies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Assad regime in Syria. 

And as Western leaders and media outlets continue to report on the heroics of the Israeli forces and how the Iranian regime, teetering on the brink of collapse, deserves to be replaced with something else supposedly more helpful for the livelihoods of its people, the world is steaming full ahead toward that of  "might makes right." A pro-Western belligerent, such as Israel, has the full authority to initiate conflict that kills off civilians en masse, while an anti-Western one, such as Russia, faces sanctions and criticism for taking the same actions.

In this world, there is no going back to a global framework of human and state rights. These abstract principles are increasingly smokescreens for "justifiable" military conflicts, putting a long-term humanitarian rationale behind the short-term facts of death and destruction. Those with military and political power can marshal these abstract concepts to change public opinion while avoiding any real consequences beyond a few spent bullets and dead soldiers. Those on the wrong side of the military balance are damned not just to physical destruction but moral ones as well.

In this world, countries should spend more on preparations for war. Not just to buy shiny new weapons, but create nimble deterrents that can overcome raw power, like Ukraine's drone fleet, while investing in infiltrating the ranks of prospective enemies, as Israel has done so well in Iran and Lebanon through a series of assassinations. And more importantly, in this world, countries should make friends who are both more militarily capable and willing to transfer military, political, and economic resources at times of war, both directly and indirectly, to help tilt the balance of power in their favor.

It will become a world where international law will not restrain belligerence but motivate it through legalistic justifications. Diplomacy will no longer be effective as the powerful can easily assassinate those who are in negotiating and decision-making positions. In this world, no one should blame others for military buildups. To survive, they will have to arm themselves to the teeth, reminding themselves that only an effective military force, not treaties, law, or economic relationships, is good enough to maintain peace and thwart foreign attacks.