Marc Lynch

And so that's what makes this moment extremely dangerous, not just now, but really throughout this administration.

It's even more true than in the past.

And let me tell you why.

Not in the sense that Israel can't live as a state on its own if it's at peace with its neighbors.

But as long as you covet the West Bank and Gaza and prevent a Palestinian state, you're not gonna be in peace with your neighbors.

And if you're not in peace with your neighbors, you're going to maintain your strategy of escalation dominance over half a billion people in the Middle East.

And you're only a country of 10 million, even if you're rich per capita.

That's not going to make a dent in what you need to maintain that.

And to get a scale of it, it's not just the money.

The money isn't the problem.

It's the military dimension of it.

You say they do their military technology.

Of course they do.

They're very good and innovative people.

But most of the sophisticated weapons that are being employed are American weapons.

The airplanes that are incredibly effective in bombing Iran, refueling, all of that is American technology.

The THAAD missiles that are intercepting the incoming Iranian missiles that each one costs 12 and a half million, you shoot two to just intercept one.

Look at, you know, in Gaza, when Israel entered after October 7th, Israel needed immediate replenishment of munitions.

immediate replenishment of munitions.

We were kind of like taking them even out of own stockpiles.