(Wall Street Journal) William McGurn - The greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the Islamic Republic of Iran. When I worked for President George W. Bush, he would remind us that al-Qaeda was at war with America long before we were at war with them. The same holds for Iran. So far 30 Americans have died in this latest conflict with Hamas. But Iran has been killing Americans for decades. Iran gets away with it because it relies on proxies to do the dirty work. After the Hamas assault, the sense is that this is an Israeli war in which the Americans are unlucky bystanders. But this conflict will quickly become an American war if Hamas executes any American hostages or uses them as human shields. Two years ago, Iranian state television aired a video showing an Iranian missile striking the U.S. Capitol and consuming it in flames. It ended with Iran "liberating" Jerusalem. By now our experience in the Middle East ought to have taught us that when people say they want to kill you, believe them.
2023-10-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive