I was asked in a television interview about the leaked report that our bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities might or might not have done a great deal of damage, and might have set back the Iranian nuclear program by only a few months. I explained that when we have a Republican president, Democrats embedded in the bureaucracy frequently leak claims, which may or may not be true, to news outlets that treat them as Gospel. Generally, they should be disregarded. Of course, our readers know all that.
In this case, the leaked claim–which, per the leaker, was a “low confidence” assessment–was absurd. The idea that the Iranian sites could somehow have survived last weekend’s munitions without much damage is, to put it politely, far-fetched. Further, following that bombardment Iran settled for a token response, which it gave warning of in advance, lest anyone be injured, and immediately wanted a cease fire. The actions of an adversary speak louder than than the words of a leaker.
Finally, I give much more credence to the Israelis than to a Democratic Party leaker. This is what they say:
The Israel Atomic Energy Committee report found that U.S. and Israeli strikes have set back Iranian nuclear development “many years,” according to Fox News.
“We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years. This achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material,” the report says.
So I am pretty sure your lying eyes didn’t deceive you. The strikes were as devastating as they looked.
