"Today may be the most important day of the 21st Century so far."(commentary.org)
commentary.org
"Today may be the most important day of the 21st Century so far."
https://www.commentary.org/john-podhoretz/first-thoughts-on-the-new-iran-war/
2 comments
That’s fair — Feb 24, 2022 was a massive rupture in the European security order.
The argument for this being as important (or more) is different though.
Russia launched a conventional invasion to redraw borders.
The regime in Tehran has spent nearly five decades exporting violence through proxies — Hezbollah, Hamas, militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen — destabilizing multiple regions simultaneously while avoiding direct accountability. It’s been a long-running asymmetric war, not a single event.
If this moment marks a direct confrontation with that system, it’s not a regional flare-up. It’s potentially the first real attempt to confront a state that’s institutionalized proxy terrorism as a core strategy.
Different kind of challenge. Possibly broader consequences.
The argument for this being as important (or more) is different though.
Russia launched a conventional invasion to redraw borders.
The regime in Tehran has spent nearly five decades exporting violence through proxies — Hezbollah, Hamas, militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen — destabilizing multiple regions simultaneously while avoiding direct accountability. It’s been a long-running asymmetric war, not a single event.
If this moment marks a direct confrontation with that system, it’s not a regional flare-up. It’s potentially the first real attempt to confront a state that’s institutionalized proxy terrorism as a core strategy.
Different kind of challenge. Possibly broader consequences.
I get the stakes but there are precedents for this whereas 24th of February feels like the biggest open challenge to the entire post-WW2 order up to now (or at least post 1991).