NATIONAL REVIEW
America and Israel Remind the World How Wars Are Fought to Victory
Noah Rothman
March 5, 2026

…Jerusalem’s objective is to “create the conditions” for regime change, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Toward that end, one Israel-based security expert told the Financial Times, Israel is attacking “the pillars of this regime” and “everything that holds it together.” But what will follow the Islamic Republic? That’s tomorrow’s problem. “If we can have a coup, great,” the analyst added. “If we can have people on the streets, great. If we can have a civil war, great.”. Israel is fighting this war as it has fought every conflict it has waged since October 7, 2023, with the goal of achieving tactical victories at the lowest possible cost in blood and treasure. The full flourishing of the Iranian people would be nice. And who wouldn’t welcome the establishment of a durable and placid social contract throughout the Middle East? Those are fine outcomes, but the IDF has a narrower agenda: break the back of the Iranian regime and rid the world of its terror masters once and for all while putting its soldiers at as little risk as possible. READ MORE