In early March, the new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that 2025 would be “a year of war.” After intensifying the war against Hamas and ongoing fighting with Iran’s five other arms that surround it like a ring of fire (plus the Iran-run international propaganda campaign on campuses and streets throughout the world) Israel has begun its long delayed massive assault on the head of the octopus—or septopus to be exact—itself. Israel has at last brought the fight to the monster’s head. Zamir’s words were true. The words he said today were also true: “This is a critical operation to prevent an existential threat, by an enemy who is intent on destroying us…. We are at the point of no return.”

This is the largest-ever Israeli attack on the genocidal Iranian tyranny, and it has only just begun. After two years of war the “ring of fire” has been sputtering as Israel has decimated Hamas, neutralized Hezbollah, ended Iran’s control of Syria, and severely damaged the other Iranian tentacles, reshaping the Middle East for the better, but now it is time for the last, largest reshaping: neutralization of Iran as the reigning head of the region, with or without regime change, with or without a residue of nuclear capability.

The Israeli pager and walkie-talkie operation against Hezbollah, followed by systematic decapitation of its hierarchy, was likely the cleverest military subterfuge since the Trojan Horse. But it was followed in a number of months by Ukraine’s brilliant infiltration of Russia with hidden armaments that destroyed half of that dictatorship’s military aircraft in a day. And a few weeks late Israel’s vast, brilliant, multilevel, game-changing assault on Iran began yesterday. Brains, not brawn, shattered these three modern tyrannies, each far more deserving of destruction than Troy.

Not so Gaza, where Israel’s unpreparedness for Hamas and Qatar’s own trickery put the boot on the other foot and forced Israel to fall back on sheer power—that is, ordinary war. That is not an oxymoron. It is a plain fact. Ordinary. War.

The photo shows the Modern War Institute at West Point, where John Spencer serves as the chair of urban warfare studies and a founding member of both the Institute and the International Working Group on Subterranean Warfare. He served 25 years in the army in ranks from private to sergeant first class and second lieutenant to major. In two combat deployments to Iraq he served as an infantry platoon leader and company commander. He is the author of three books and many articles on urban warfare and leadership. And he’s a prize-winning West Point teacher.

Given his expertise, it’s not surprising that he has closely followed and taught about Israel’s war since October 7, 2023. He has visited Gaza several times and (among many other articles and interviews) wrote in late April a remarkable piece called “Top 7 Lies about Israel and the IDF Pertaining to  Gaza.” Here they are.

“1. Lie: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza; 2. Lie: Israel intentionally targets civilians in Gaza; 3. Lie: The civilian-to-combatant ratio proves Israel is committing war crimes. 4. Lie: Israel is starving Gaza’s population; 5. Lie: Israel indiscriminately attacks hospitals and schools; 6. Lie: Israel is illegally occupying Gaza; 7. Lie: Israel violates Hamas prisoners’ rights under the Geneva Conventions.” In each of these sections Spencer provides not just persuasive but decisive evidence that those who perpetrate these bald-faced falsehoods are morally bankrupt deceivers. He concludes, “In a just world, Israel’s efforts would be recognized for what they are: the very definition of lawful and moral warfare.” This is what he is teaching America’s future officers right now at West Point: Israel is a military and moral model for our own future wars.

Or, consider Richard Kemp, a retired British Army Colonel who commanded an infantry battalion in Afghanistan and also took part in the Bosnian, Gulf, and Iraq Wars. He has spent most of his time in Israel since the current war began. He said many times, most recently on May 30th in the Daily Telegraph: Israel has killed many terrorists and would have killed “many more”….”had the IDF not been so determined to avoid killing the hostages and where possible to avoid harm to civilians with their scrupulously observed obligations under International Humanitarian Law.” Already today, he gave a detailed interview about the new Israeli attack: “Iran was threatening Israel ever since 1979, and now we’ve seen Israel carrying out what so far seems to be the most brilliant operation you can imagine. I doubt if any other country could do it. And it’s an historic occasion because, ultimately, as long as it goes to plan, then a major threat not just to Israel but to the whole region and the whole of the world will have been removed.”

Or, David Petraeus, who despite a romantic scandal remains one of America’s most highly decorated, experienced, and respected Generals, has consistently supported Israel throughout this war, although he has criticized the strategy of clearing areas of Gaza and then leaving them. He has strongly advised a clear and hold strategy instead, which is what Israel has been doing in Gaza for the past few months. “Only if you do that can you begin the restoration of basic services, reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, repair of schools, clinics, markets, roads, etc., and get people back into homes of some type… And they’ll identify the bad guys… And if you do this of course, then you can you can also introduce Palestinian security forces… Arab forces will come in—they’re not going to come in if there’s not security… Then you can demonstrate to the entire world that Palestinians and Israeli Jews can live side by side in harmony.”

So, leading military experts and experienced combat officers (not Jewish) support Israel in this recent process in Gaza and in this latest attack on Iran. The clear and hold strategy in Gaza has not gone smoothly, with tragic casualties occurring around food distribution, and there is little doubt that Iran’s response to today’s attack will intensify. But let us remember the names of those who outrageously and disgustingly began using the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions, thus debasing this precious and valuable word and insulting the memories of the 800,000 Tutsi, 2 million Cambodians, and of course the 6 million Jews the word was invented for—3 groups who are true victims of true genocides.

According to the UN, 160,000 homes have been destroyed in Gaza, and 276,000 damaged. Also according to the UN, about 55,000 Gazans (including terrorists) have been killed, out of a population of 2.2 million. How do you destroy 160,000 homes while killing 55,000 people? Obviously the great majority of the homes were empty—by Israel’s warnings and orders. Would anyone like to guess how long it would take for the IDF to kill all two million Gazans, if they wanted to? Instead they are moving them out of harm’s way. Gaza is at war. War is terrible. But war is not genocide. Not even close.

The collection of vile debasers and anti-Semites who have libeled Israel with “genocide” include Senators Bernie Sanders  and Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the governments of South Africa, Ireland, and Norway, Amnesty International—yes, I once admired it too—and others now thoroughly besmirched with this blood libel of their own twisted invention. It’s interesting to notice the move made by Ireland: they’ve called for a new definition of the word “genocide” so that the Jews could be guilty of it—thus admitting that nothing Israel has done meets any definition of the word that already exists, and also admitting that they want to degrade the meaning and value of the word.

The names of these blood libelers will live in infamy. Shame on them all. Shame, shame, shame.

• The comment below, which I am publishing in full despite its hiding behind the identity “Anonymous,” makes some fair points about Senator Sanders. He has backed off from the exact word “genocide,” in some settings. However, as “Anonymous” acknowledges, Sanders has used US taxpayers’ money to re-post on his official website statements containing the exact word without himself demurring from its use in the slightest. For example, On February 8, 2024, he republished the statement, “The US should be working to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza, not aiding and abetting it.” Nowhere in this government funded posting does he demur from or qualify the use of the word, in fact he promotes it. Also, he has given credence to the South Africa’s scurrilous accusation of genocide against Israel, and has said that international bodies should decide whether genocide has happened or not. More importantly, Sanders has repeatedly stated (for example in an address to the Senate on May 8 this year) that “what we are seeing niw is a slow, brutal process of mass starvation and death;” that Israel has “waged a full out barbaric war of annihilation against the Palestinian people;” and that “right now, as we speak, thousands of children are starving to death.” Each of these three statements is !. a lie; 2. a blood libel; and 3. a functional equivalent of genocide. So yes, Anonymous, Sanders has equivocated or even shied away fro the word “genocide,” he has effectively, mendaciously, and in my view antisemitically accused Israel and the Jewish people of genocide, even while he refuses to name his own accusations what they are. And no, Anonymous, I will not apologize to Mr. Sanders. He, on the other hand, urgently needs to apologize to Israel and the Jewish People. (I have also corrected and properly sourced Sanders’ re-posting of the explicit “genocide” accusation in the earlier posting Anonymous criticizes. The upshot—Sanders is a blood libeler—is the same.)