Friday's Final Word – HotAir
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I met a devil woman, she took my tabs away …

Ed: I suspect that none of them are still alive, and that the regime’s news services are trying to cover that up. That strike on the Qom HQ of the Assembly of Experts may have put an end to the theocrats altogether. It makes no sense at all that these mullahs have decided to stay out of view when political leaders like Pezeshkian and Larijani have made their presence known, and the “targeting” excuse for not naming the next Supreme Leader is ludicrous. They’re all already targets. The regime’s theocratic system can’t function without a top theocrat. 

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Jerusalem Post: Amid the ongoing Israeli and US strikes against the Iranian regime, some officers in the Islamic regime’s armed forces have abandoned their barracks, leaving behind the soldiers under their command to remain on guard duty, a number of conscripts told Iranian opposition outlet Iran International.

The soldiers who spoke with the outlet reported that since the killing of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, confusion has erupted within the Iranian military.

Several soldiers stationed at a military base in Lorestan province told Iran International that they were uncertain about the command structure and were uneasy about the deteriorating security situation.

Ed: This is why the “targeted” excuse makes no sense, especially in a regime as rigid and theocratic as Iran’s. Dictatorships abhor vacuums at the top, or anywhere near it. Some units will operate for a short time under the “mosaic” structure that Abbas Araghchi declared, but not for long, and the people who carry it out won’t have any experience in acting independently. 

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Ed: Good to see my old friend Michael Medved. This point that he and Bret Stephens make is a critical one. We’ve already made this more costly than it should have been; we should have addressed this in 1979 or in 1983 after the attack on the Marines barracks in Beirut. 

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Free Beacon: The survey—conducted between March 3 and March 5 with a sample size of 1,232 respondents who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024—broke down respondents into camps of “Traditional Conservative,” “MAGA or Trump Conservative,” “Moderate Republican,” and “Libertarian.”

Overall, 84 percent of the Trump voters surveyed said they approve of the military campaign against the Iranian regime, while just 14 percent disapprove.

Eighty-three percent of those who identify with the MAGA movement believe U.S.-Israeli strikes in the first few days of Operation Epic Fury have made the United States safer, the poll shows. On a wider scale, 92 percent of MAGA respondents said they agree with the statement that “President Trump’s use of force against Iran will help deter future attacks from our adversaries.” Libertarians, according to the poll, are the group on the right most likely to oppose the military engagement. Even so, 74 percent of libertarians surveyed reported approving of the campaign.

The Vandenberg-TargetPoint poll also includes a question about the military partnership between the United States and Israel. Ninety-three percent of self-described “MAGA or Trump Conservatives” reported supporting that alliance, while 80 percent of all Trump voters between the ages of 18 and 29 surveyed said the same.

Ed: Reports of a MAGA rupture are – as usual – greatly exaggerated. 

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… going to continue,” she said.

Ed: I didn’t write about this, although John did, so be sure to check that out. We’re providing assistance to Ukraine too, so it’s a little difficult to get too charged up about this, especially since that intel isn’t actually doing much to benefit the Iranians. Their ballistic missile systems aren’t precise enough for that kind of targeting, and their drones are more of a nuisance than a strategic risk. That’s why Leavitt’s correct that it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme. It is interesting, though, that Russia’s doing this while China is apparently doing almost nothing. 

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Zineb Riboua at NRO: The truly vicious part of Beijing’s situation is that Iran’s entire playbook for retaliation was designed to punish Washington, but the geography and economics of each weapon mean the damage lands on China instead. Iranian missiles aimed at Gulf states threaten the very oil infrastructure and port facilities that Chinese companies have spent billions investing in across the region. …

The clearest sign of Beijing’s disorientation is the absence of action: no emergency summits, no diplomatic maneuvers, no military repositioning, even as a Chinese citizen was killed in cross fire in Tehran and over 3,000 nationals were evacuated. The sum total of Beijing’s response to the largest American military operation in a generation remains a press conference.

Xi bet a decade of foreign policy on Khamenei’s ability to survive American pressure, and the bet did not pay off. Operation Epic Fury was designed to break the Islamic Republic, but it may also have exposed the uncomfortable truth that Chinese influence in the Middle East was only as durable as the assumption that no one would ever call it into question. And in Zhongnanhai, they know it.

Ed: David wrote about this earlier today, and so did I. This is an excellent rundown of the strategic failures Xi is experiencing in Operation Epic Fury, and the lack of any good options as a result for Xi. In a regime where Xi has built a formidable cult of personality, one has to wonder whether this disastrous miscalculation will have long-range consequences for China’s leader-for-life.  

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Ed: I wonder whether the conservatives in Spain can make a comeback. They certainly have the moxie, but their demographics would seem to make it difficult, given the immigration numbers over the past decade or so. 

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WSJ Editorial Board: California Gov. Gavin Newsom tends to blow with the winds of his party, which is what makes his comments this week likening Israel to an apartheid state particularly notable. As he positions himself for the 2028 presidential primary, he’s showing that he thinks the anti-Israel left is ascendant in the Democratic Party. …

“It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice about that consideration,” he said about providing arms to Israel.

The timing of Mr. Newsom’s anti-Israel musing is contrary to U.S. security interests as the two countries work together as allies in a common military campaign against Iran’s terrorist government. Missions that Israelis fly are bombing runs that American pilots don’t have to. Whatever one thinks of Israel’s domestic politics, a call to cut off arms to an ally in wartime ought to be disqualifying for someone who wants to be the U.S. Commander in Chief.

Ed: Newsom is fighting 2024’s losing war again rather than looking at the war now. He’s siding with the same anti-Semites that Kamala Harris thought would carry her to election. That kind of stupidity should also be disqualifying. 

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Ed: Shouldn’t he be appointing an Anti-Rape-Trafficking-Ring tsar?

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William Otis at Ringside: The pretense that there is no very well articulated reason for America’s military action — or that there are too many reasons so it’s just all a jumble — is probably the favorite refrain from the Left just now. Paul politely disassembled the latter part of that line, and I want to add a word or two.

Let’s start with this: It’s not “Trump’s war with Iran.” That’s just a lie. It’s our answering, after 47 years of dallying, Iran’s war on us. … 

The invasion and seizure of the American embassy in 1979 and the kidnapping and holding of American diplomats for more than a year — until Ronald Reagan became President — was an act of war: Under long accepted international law, a nation’s embassy is its sovereign territory, and the armed invasion of it by the “host” country defines an act of war.

The Washington Post knows this but buries it, possibly because it’s in such sorry shape that it has to genuflect (even more than usual) to its Leftist readership.

In fact, the ample reasons for finally taking on Iran’s savage, Jihadist regime were well summarized by none other than the Trump-hating pseudo-conservative David French in this column in the New York Times.

Ed: We used to call this a Fisking, and this one’s well worth the read. 

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Ed: Both were complicated and egotistical men too, but were indispensable to America’s security and strength when the time came. I don’t think Trump or Pete Hegseth will mind those comparisons. 

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Ed: Ouch, baby … very ouch. 

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Ed: Your PSA of the day!

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Ed: Stay tuned. The Iranian people may have more help on the way. 

Editor’s note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you’re digging these Final Word posts and want to join the conversation in the comments — and support independent platforms — why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!

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