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Operation Grim Beeper
(X) Michael Doran - This is one of the most astonishing intelligence operations in history. It is a reworking of the story of the Trojan Horse for the digital age. In real life, operations like this just don't happen. First, the Israelis thoroughly mapped Hizbullah's supply chain. Second, they invented a special explosive charge small enough to be inserted inside a handheld device, sophisticated enough to be remotely activated, big enough to do real harm, and yet not so prominent as to call attention to itself. It is the first mass targeted killing in history. The great genius of the operation is that the Israelis relied on Hizbullah to select their targets for them. If we map the attacked men, we map Hizbullah's organizational chart, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon who is an IRGC officer. The large ratio of maimings to deaths is a sign of success. In military terms, a maiming is preferable because it ties up more resources and stresses enemy systems to a much greater degree. Operation Grim Beeper is also morally laudable. Hizbullah is a terrorist organization. It is an arm of Iran that has brought death and destruction everywhere it has gained a foothold. Hizbullah worked with Russia, Iran and the Assad regime to flatten large parts of many of the major cities of Syria. Iran and Hizbullah cannot be appeased, they must be deterred. Pressure on Israel to deescalate advances Iran's and Hizbullah's agenda. It was they who escalated on Oct. 8, when, unprovoked, Hizbullah opened fire on Israel. The only deescalation that the U.S. should support is the one that will return Israeli civilians to their homes and weaken Hizbullah's death grip on southern Lebanon. Operation Grim Beeper is the beginning of the Israeli effort to restore deterrence. The writer is Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute.