The Iranians held 53 Americans hostage for 444 days. But I suspect Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s holdover in Hell will last considerably longer.
So will Mahmound Ahmadinejad’s. Remember him? He’s the ex-president of Iran who became famous for visiting Columbia University and denying the existence of Iranian gays (among other things).
And those aren’t the only ones.
The remarkably swift removal of Iran’s supreme leader reflected the close coordination and intelligence sharing between the United States and Israel in the run-up to the attack, and the deep intelligence the countries had developed on Iranian leadership, especially in the wake of last year’s 12-day war. The operation also showed the failure of Iran’s leaders to take adequate precautions to avoid exposing themselves at a time where both Israel and the U.S. sent clear signals that they were preparing for war.
It’s a story of two nations, working hand-in-fist, to minimize casualties and maximize victory. And because both nations have elite Armed Forces and first-rate intelligence capabilities, the results were spectacular:
The C.I.A. passed its intelligence, which offered “high fidelity” on Ayatollah Khamenei’s position, to Israel, according to people briefed on the intelligence.
[…]
Israel, using U.S. intelligence and its own, would execute an operation it had been planning for months: the targeted killing of Iran’s senior leaders.
[…]
Israel had determined that the gathering would include top Iranian defense officials, including Mohammad Pakpour, the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps; Aziz Nasirzadeh, the minister of defense; Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the head of the Military Council; Seyyed Majid Mousavi, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force; Mohammad Shirazi, the deputy intelligence minister; and others.
And then: KABOOM.
Turns out that meeting lasted the rest of their lives!
This war is still in its infancy and the narrative could still turn on a dime. On Sunday morning, there were reports of the first three American troops killed. Sadly, there will likely be more. War is Hell.
As a father whose son is in the U.S. Army Cavalry, I’m not blind to the risks. Neither should anyone else.
To quote Dickinson (Bruce, not Emily): “Blood is freedom’s stain.”
But there’s a risk to inaction, too. There’s the risk that, eventually, Iran will unlock the nuclear genie. There’s a risk that its global terrorist network will regroup and reconstitute. There’s a risk that even more Americans will die.
There’s also a risk that time is on their side.
And there’s a clear and present risk that this transformational opportunity — to strike when our enemy is at its weakest and our intelligence capabilities are at its highest — won’t EVER come again.
So, America struck. But we weren’t alone.
It wasn’t the UK that had America’s back. The British intelligence agencies may get the world’s best press, but they traded their License to Kill for Islamic bootlicking years ago. And now, in the words of the people:
They’re not wrong https://t.co/wfV3hhTWj6
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) March 1, 2026
Nor was it France that stood by our side. France is reliably unreliable and can’t be counted on for anything other than this:
😂😂☠️ pic.twitter.com/LBmVNIirBY
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) February 28, 2026
Besides, the French people don’t like us very much:
Consider: 76% of French citizens oppose sending soldiers to Ukraine to battle the Russians — yet 41% would favor “military intervention by France” if the U.S. dares to annex Greenland.
This means that France would rather wage war against the United States of America to defend a barren, frozen tundra with a few hundred thousand people than wage war against a depleted Russian army to defend over 40 million Ukrainians!
Sorry, folks: That’s not an ally. Nor is it a friend, a colleague, or even a reliable partner.
And Canada? BWAHAHAHA! Whatcha talkin’ aboot, eh?
It’s something we’ve noted before:
Canada says all kinds of flowery things about the importance of alliances and the sanctity of NATO. According to Prime Minister Carney, Canada is a model NATO member that’s being bullied by bigger countries.
Oh, by the way, Canada also spends a paltry 1.5% of its GDP on defense.
Question: If NATO is so important, why won’t Canada pay its [2%] fair share?
Fun fact: Canada has an active military of just 62,300 troops. Israel has 169,500.
Y’know, if our NATO “allies” were more like Israel, it would truly be an alliance worth keeping. In fact, if Western Europe were more like Israel, I’ll bet you that Russia wouldn’t have dared invade Ukraine at all.
As an American, ask yourself: Isn’t it nice having an ally that can actually do stuff?
One Last Thing: 2026 is a critical year for America First: It began with Mayor Mamdani declaring war on “rugged individualism” and will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the fate of the America First movement teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battlelines been so clearly defined. Win or lose, 2026 will transform our country.
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