English soccer fans are a vocal bunch. On Saturdays and Sundays, tens of thousands of them pack themselves into stadiums across England, chanting and belting out all kinds of songs while watching their teams play.
One chant that seems to be particularly popular among English soccer fans is “You don’t know what you’re doing.” It is a taunt that is frequently directed at coaches and game officials. When supporters are unhappy with their own team’s performance during a game and they think that is due to poor coaching, they use that chant to let the coach know their opinion of him. When the target is a referee or a linesman, it means fans disapprove of a call that the official made against their team.
Speaking recently about the opportunity the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran presents to Iranians to rise up and overthrow their government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this: “We will create optimal conditions to do this, including airstrikes as we did yesterday, as we are doing these days, to try to give them the space needed to take to the streets.” He added: “You can lead someone to water, you cannot make him drink.”
To Mr. Netanyahu’s credit, he went on to say this: “I do not deny it: I cannot say for certain that the Iranian people will bring down the regime.” It was important for him to acknowledge that. Toppling a tyrannical government is not as straightforward as both he and President Trump have made it sound at times.
I was reminded of that English chant after reading Mr. Netanyahu’s statements on the situation in Iran. After the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel, the prime minister sent his forces into Gaza, declaring that his goal was to eliminate Hamas. Soon after that conflict began, numerous regional experts and commentators warned that the manner of the war’s prosecution made it unlikely that his stated objective could be achieved.
Over nearly two years, Israeli forces bombed Gaza into rubble. More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed. Although Israel has managed to assassinate several of the top leaders of the group and thousands of its fighters, the overall goal of complete elimination of Hamas remains elusive.
The U.S., Qatar and Egypt brokered a ceasefire that began in January this year. It called for Hamas to disarm. That condition for cessation of hostilities was a tacit acknowledgment that despite all that heavy bombardment, much of the organization and its fighting infrastructure remain firmly in place. Thousands of the fighters were hiding inside the extensive tunnel network in Gaza throughout the war. Large numbers of them were seen roaming the streets of Gaza and brandishing their guns as soon as the ceasefire took effect.
A similar pattern seems to be emerging in Iran and Lebanon. Tehran and Beirut have come under heavy bombardment in recent days, with significant damage to houses and other civilian infrastructure. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes, and more families will be forced to evacuate in the coming days and weeks. Meanwhile, the regime change in Tehran that was promised at the start of the war increasingly looks unachievable.
The Wall Street Journal says that Iranians are now “grappling with the possibility that the war will end with them living under the same authoritarian rule and crushing international sanctions, but in devastated cities with an aggrieved government that has vowed to take an even harder line against dissent.” One Iranian who is said to be a supporter of the war fears that “This regime will become stronger, crueller, more monstrous even than before.” He added: “People don’t have the weapons to fight back.”
Those of us who are fortunate to live in the free world have a duty to continue asking questions. Our leaders keep setting unrealistic goals and impatiently trying to pursue them. In the process, they leave one gigantic mess after another that helpless people then get stuck in for years on end.
Gaza has been left unlivable. The signs in both Tehran and Beirut today don’t look promising either. Does Bibi Netanyahu know what he is doing?