It's been a heavy day so far for your Friendly Neighborhood VodkaPundit™. First, I had to write a column detailing why I finally broke down and started using "World War III" to describe the current set of semi-interlocking conflicts around the world. Then, what started as a breezy update to NASA's Starliner woes turned into a real blood-boiler after I learned the gobsmacking truth about NASA's terrible decision to launch the star-crossed space capsule two months ago.
So how about some lighter fare this afternoon?
I'm kidding, of course. I'm here with another update about the Third World War's Middle Eastern Front.
But it might turn out to be good news. So we have that going for us. Which is nice.
If you're on X and use it at all for reliable news — which is a crapshoot at best for sure — Open Source Intelligence Monitor should be one of your follows. No hype, no rumors, just solid information about war and foreign affairs gleaned from open sources. Sure, that means anybody could do what OSINT does, but nobody has to because they do it so well. No clue who they are but I'd be happy to buy them a drink or three.
The setup was needed so you'll understand why I'm giving credence to this single tweet:
Some Israeli Officials believe that Iran is beginning to get “Cold Feet” and is now Reconsidering a Major Response against Israel, due to the possibility of it causing a Full-Scale Region War that they couldn’t Win; however, its also believed that Hezbollah is getting Impatient… pic.twitter.com/tbPI7CIdyE
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 7, 2024
Iran's mullahcracy might be made up of crazies, but they aren't suicidal.
Recommended: World War III Update: The Saudis Put Iran on Notice
Flashback to April of this year, the last time Iran threatened to rain death and destruction upon Israel after the Israeli Air Force bombed the Iranian consulate in Beirut. The IAF attack was justified, killing Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi of Iran's terrorist Quds Force and seven other Revolutionary Guards officers who used the facility to aid Hezbollah and Hamas attacks on Israel.
Less than two weeks after Zahedi & Co. went "BOOM!" Iran launched about 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles, and at least 120 ballistic missiles at Israel. Out of the 320-plus attacks, fewer than ten even struck Israel — causing minor damage at worst and critically injuring just one person. Most were shot down by IAF or Western warplanes and missile defense systems.
Yeah, the Israeli and Western-allied militaries performed admirably, but a large fraction of Iran's missiles and drones are believed to have blown up on launch or failed during flight. Because "Inshallah" is a lousy way to run a missile program. But I digress.
The point is that there's only so much public humiliation an authoritarian government like Iran's can survive, and there's plenty of whoop-ass the Israelis have thus far restrained themselves from dishing out.
So with any luck, the world will take a breather long enough for me to take a few days off from writing these World War III updates.
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