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Anatomy of a Military Operation: Between Immediate Success and Enduring Uncertainties

Anatomy of a Military Operation: Between Immediate Success and Enduring Uncertainties

The Israeli offensive against Iran constitutes a pivotal moment in the contemporary history of the Middle East, revealing with particular acuity the tensions between military effectiveness and strategic vision, between political legitimacy and regional stability. In other words, war lays bare the paradoxes of power. By mobilizing a three-dimensional approach (political science, international law and the anthropology of conflict), this study proposes to examine the deeper drivers of the Israeli military operation and to assess its short- and long-term implications.

War as a Revealer of the Paradoxes of Power

Let us begin by rethinking victory in the contemporary era and tracing its conceptual architecture. Carl von Clausewitz (1955) posits that any military victory acquires meaning only through its capacity to serve enduring political ends. Far from being obsolete, this conception resonates forcefully in the Israeli-Iranian context, where tactical performance must be evaluated against its contribution to long-term strategic objectives. Robert Mandel’s work (2006) introduces a multidimensional approach to victory that integrates six essential criteria: informational control, military deterrence, political stability, economic reconstruction, social justice and international legitimacy. This framework makes it possible to grasp the complexity of a military operation’s outcomes beyond their purely tactical aspects.

What, then, of Israeli security doctrine, which constantly oscillates between continuity and adaptation?

The Ben Gurion Legacy: The Permanence of Strategic Invariants

Israeli security doctrine, elaborated by David Ben Gurion in the 1950s, rests on four fundamental pillars that have endured for decades: preventive deterrence, early warning, the pursuit of decisive victory and active defence. This doctrinal matrix, analyzed by the National Institute for Strategic Studies (INSS), reveals a remarkable continuity in Israel’s approach to security.

The anthropology of conflict sheds light on this continuity: the Israeli collective memory, shaped by the experience of the Shoah and the perception of an ever-present existential threat, fashions a strategic culture in which vigilance and anticipation constitute categorical imperatives. This anthropological dimension accounts for the persistence of decision-making patterns privileging preventive action and demonstrations of force. Nonetheless, contemporary transformations have shifted Israeli security doctrine from a defensive posture towards a more offensive approach.

Towards a “Semi-Super-Power” Posture

The work of Eviatar Matania (2022; 2025) points to a significant evolution in Israeli doctrine characterised by a proactive approach to shaping the regional environment. This transition towards the status of a “semi-super-power” fully integrates the cyber, informational and economic dimensions into security strategy.

This doctrinal mutation reflects an adaptation to new forms of conflictuality in which asymmetric, hybrid and technological threats redefine traditional security paradigms. The integration of offensive capabilities in cyberspace and mastery of information flows have become essential components of strategic superiority. Yet how have Israel’s objectives been presented? Declaratory transparency and strategic opacity have alternated in the official discourse of Israeli strategists.

Planning and Legitimation: The Temporality of Decision-Making

The order to neutralise Iran’s nuclear programme, issued by Netanyahu as early as November 2024, testifies to methodical planning and a desire for domestic political legitimation. This six-month anticipation reveals a strategic approach structured around prevention and the management of perceptions.

The official discourse, centred on the need to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, deploys a register of legitimacy grounded in customary international law relating to preventive self-defense. This rhetoric of existential urgency is anchored in the Israeli narrative tradition of imminent threat and national survival.

Beyond official rhetoric, an analysis of the modes of operation discloses a broader ambition: the systematic targeting of command chains, nuclear scientists and military infrastructure suggests a strategy of regime change by attrition. Inspired by the Cold War concept of “rollback,” this approach aims to weaken the mullahs’ capacity to project regional power over the long term. Netanyahu’s direct address to the Iranian people, invoking “freedom” and “liberation,” confirms this transformative dimension of the operation. It reveals a maximalist conception of victory that transcends purely military objectives to embrace a geopolitical vision of regional restructuring.

Tactical Performance: Operational Brilliance and Structural Limits

The Israeli operation demonstrated uncontested air superiority: more than 300 guided munitions deployed in five coordinated waves, no aircraft losses, and the massive destruction of Iranian defense systems. Praised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the Washington Institute, this performance illustrates Israeli technological dominance and its capacity to operate deep within enemy territory. The synchronisation of strikes, the integration of electronic-warfare systems and coordination with U.S. forces reveal a level of operational sophistication that places Israel among the select circle of first-rank military powers. This show of force in itself constitutes a strategic message to all regional actors.

Yet damage assessments reveal the limits of this tactical achievement. Iran’s underground infrastructure, designed to withstand conventional munitions, was only marginally affected. Anticipated by experts at Chatham House, this architectural resilience illustrates the limits of air power against adversaries prepared for aggression. The anthropology of conflict teaches that societies subjected to aggression develop cultural and institutional forms of resilience that transcend material damage. Iran’s capacity to absorb shocks and maintain institutional continuity constitutes a form of “strategic resilience” that relativises the impact of tactical successes.

Erosion of Iranian Deterrence: Strategic Victory or Historical Trap?

The relative failure of the Iranian riposte—with an interception rate exceeding 90 percent of projectiles—exposed the limits of Tehran’s deterrence strategy, which relies on ballistic missiles and regional proxies. Israeli defensive effectiveness, combined with direct U.S. intervention, has undermined the credibility of Iranian deterrence and made an open confrontation in the Persian Gulf conceivable.

The collapse of this regional balance of terror undeniably constitutes a strategic success for Israel, demonstrating the vulnerability of Iranian capabilities to Israeli-American technological superiority and coordination. Yet paradoxically, this victory could generate long-term perverse effects. Analysts such as Anthony Cordesman (CSIS) warn that humiliation might accelerate Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, reshape Iranian perceptions of the conflict, and legitimize a more radical regional posture.

Iranian authorities reaffirm their adherence to the NPT, which Iran has observed since 1970, and to their safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, in early July 2025 Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA following Israeli-American strikes on its nuclear facilities and a new parliamentary law. While not tantamount to withdrawing from the NPT, this suspension severely limits the IAEA’s monitoring capacity; oversight now falls to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Tehran continues to defend its right to enrich uranium for “peaceful” purposes, yet rejects any ban on this activity in international negotiations. Despite suspending IAEA cooperation, Iranian officials profess openness to a diplomatic solution under a “new format,” contingent on good-faith engagement by interlocutors.

The history of international relations shows that military defeats can, counter-intuitively, reinforce regimes by fostering internal cohesion and driving them to develop asymmetric retaliatory capabilities. Pakistan’s nuclear programme after its 1971 defeat exemplifies such strategic compensation.

A Political Victory: Domestic Consolidation and International Legitimation

The operation enabled Netanyahu to restore political legitimacy eroded by the Gaza crisis and domestic divisions. Polls indicate strong public support (70 percent according to the Israel Democracy Institute), transcending traditional partisan cleavages and reviving the founding narrative of national unity in the face of threat. This exceptional unanimity grants the Prime Minister renewed authority and unprecedented agenda-setting capacity. Public opinion’s shift from contestation to endorsement illustrates the rally-round-the-flag effect and enduring reflexes of national solidarity.

The direct U.S. military intervention alongside Israel constitutes a historic precedent in bilateral security cooperation. This demonstration of Atlantic solidarity, materialized by joint strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, confirms Israel’s centrality in Western security architecture in the Middle East.

Nevertheless, this legitimation remains geographically and temporally limited. International reactions reveal Israel’s relative isolation within multilateral institutions, majority condemnation in the UN General Assembly, and growing European reservations regarding military escalation.

Regional Dynamics: Shifting Equilibria and Emerging Vulnerabilities

The weakening of the Islamic Republic of Iran disrupts regional balances, opening avenues for new geopolitical configurations. Israel’s emergence as a regional hegemonic actor, combined with the erosion of Iranian proxies, redefines patterns of alliance and confrontation in the Middle East. This transformation accelerates the normalisation of relations between Israel and several Arab states, united by their perception of the Iranian threat—the Abraham Accords thereby gaining renewed impetus.

Paradoxically, tactical domination exposes Israel to new vulnerabilities. Conventional military superiority does not immunise against asymmetric strategies, transnational terrorism or cyber-attacks. Limited Iranian strikes on certain Israeli infrastructures highlight the persistent disruptive capacities of Tehran.

The anthropology of conflict emphasizes that Middle Eastern societies cultivate adaptive and resistant practices that transcend military power relations. Actor fragmentation, the proliferation of proxies and conflict hybridisation generate strategic uncertainty that diminishes the advantages conferred by conventional superiority.

International Legal Framework

The Israeli intervention occupies a complex legal zone at the intersection of the right of self-defense and the doctrine of pre-emption. While Iran’s nuclear ambitions may constitute a legitimate casus belli, UN doctrine and International Court of Justice jurisprudence impose a restrictive interpretation of pre-emption, conditioned by imminence, necessity and proportionality. The temporal nature of the nuclear threat, spanning several years, challenges self-defense frameworks designed for immediate and direct aggression.

The proportionality of the means employed raises significant concerns under international humanitarian law. Though targeting military and nuclear installations respects the principle of distinction, the scale of destruction and the risk of collateral damage may, for some jurists, question compliance with humanitarian standards. Israel’s ability to maintain Western support will hinge on adherence to international legal norms and avoidance of excesses liable to erode normative legitimacy.

Conclusion

The Israeli offensive against the Islamic Republic of Iran stands as a remarkable tactical success and a significant political victory for Netanyahu. The military show of force, the restoration of domestic legitimacy and the acquisition of American support constitute substantial gains that recast Israel’s regional standing.

Yet the strategic scope of this victory remains conditional and uncertain. Israel’s capacity to translate immediate successes into durable advantages depends on preventing the regeneration of Iranian military capabilities, maintaining internal cohesion and avoiding regional escalation that could transform tactical gains into strategic defeat.

The anthropology of conflict, strategic theory and geopolitical analysis converge to remind us that victory, far from being definitive, is a dynamic process subject to reversibility and contingency. In a regional environment marked by structural instability and actor fragmentation, military superiority guarantees neither long-term security nor regional peace.

The true measure of Israeli victory lies not in the brilliance of its tactical feats, but in its ability to craft a stable, legitimate and enduring regional order. This ambition, transcending immediate military concerns, constitutes Israel’s fundamental strategic challenge in the post-operational period.

Ultimately, the operation against Iran illuminates contemporary paradoxes of power: military effectiveness does not automatically translate into lasting political success, and tactical domination can coexist with strategic vulnerability. This dialectic, at the heart of Clausewitzian thought, finds in the Israeli-Iranian conflict a particularly striking illustration of the limits and ambiguities of military victory in the modern era.

Bibliography

Clausewitz, C. von. (1832). Vom Kriege [De la guerre]. Dümmler. 

Mandel, R. (2006). The meaning of military victory. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Matania, E. (2025). Redefining Israel’s security: A shift toward a semi-superpower doctrine. Israel Defense. https://www.israeldefense.co.il/

Matania, E. (2022). Cybermania: How Israel became a global powerhouse in an arena that shapes the future of mankind. Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir. (En collaboration avec A. Rapaport)

Matania, E. (2022). Behind mandatory service in Israel: From the rationale of the militia to the needs of the technological military. INSS Strategic Assessment.

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The Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation: A Legacy Reborn

June 11, 2025 – 249 years ago, on this very date, history pivoted on the axis of human possibility.

June 11, 1776. The Continental Congress, meeting in the hallowed chambers of Independence Hall, appointed five extraordinary visionaries to a committee that would forever alter the trajectory of human civilization. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston—men of profound intellect and unwavering conviction—were entrusted with the sacred task of drafting the Declaration of Independence. In that momentous decision, they established not merely a political document, but a philosophical foundation upon which the principles of liberty, self-governance, and human dignity would rest for generations yet unborn.

Today, We Stand at Another Threshold

On June 11, 2025—exactly 249 years later—the Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation emerges to carry forward the luminous torch of those founding principles into the complexities of our modern age. Just as Jefferson and his fellow committee members understood that true independence required both visionary thinking and strategic action, the Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation recognizes that preserving and advancing liberty in the 21st century demands sophisticated analysis, bold leadership, and unwavering commitment to the fundamental values that define human flourishing.

A Foundation Built on Timeless Principles

The parallels between then and now are profound:

  • Then, Five visionary leaders gathered to articulate the philosophical foundations of a new nation. Now, A new foundation emerges to advance strategic thinking on liberty’s most pressing challenges
  • Then, The Committee of Five understood that ideas must be coupled with practical wisdom. Now, The Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation bridges timeless principles with contemporary strategic insight
  • Then, They recognized that liberty requires constant vigilance and thoughtful stewardship. Now, We commit to that same vigilance in an increasingly complex world

In the shadow of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, where the Mursi people etch resilience into their skin through lip plates and the Hamar tribe’s bull-jumping rites forge indomitable courage, a new chapter in the global fight for liberty begins. The Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation (LVS Foundation) launches today as a vanguard of 21st-century research, merging scholarly rigor with actionable strategy through its revolutionary Cohesive Research Ecosystem (CORE). Founded by Dr. Fundji Benedict—a scholar whose lineage intertwines Afrikaner grit, Ethiopian sovereignty, and Jewish perseverance—this institution embodies a legacy of defiance inherited from history’s most audacious truth-seekers, from Zora Neale Hurston to the warrior women of Ethiopia. This duality—scholarship as sword and shield—mirrors Dr. Benedict’s own journey. For 10+ years, she navigated bureaucratic inertia and geopolitical minefields, her resolve hardened by the Ethiopian women warriors who once defied Italian fascism.

 

 

I. The Hurston Imperative: Truth as a Weapon

Zora Neale Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance icon who “broke through racial barriers” and declared, “Truth is a letter from courage,” is the Foundation’s spiritual lodestar. Like Hurston, who documented Black life under Jim Crow with unflinching authenticity, the LVS Foundation wields research as both shield and scalpel. BRAVE, its human rights arm, intervenes in crises with the precision Hurston brought to folklore studies, transforming marginalized voices into policy. When Somali warlords displace the Gabra people or Ethiopian officials seize tribal lands, BRAVE acts with the urgency of Hurston’s anthropological missions, ensuring that “truth-telling becomes liberation”.

Dr. Benedict’s decade-long journey mirrors Hurston’s defiance. “My ancestors did not bow. I will not bow,” she asserts, her cadence echoing the Omo Valley’s ceremonial chants. This ethos permeates the Foundation’s CORE model, where BRAVE, COMPASS, and STRIDE operate in symphonic unity. “CORE is our answer to siloed thinking,” Dr. Benedict explains. “Through this cohesive ecosystem, BRAVE, COMPASS, and STRIDE work in concert—breaking down

barriers between academic research, fieldwork, and strategic action. This enables us to develop innovative solutions and stride toward lasting change”.

 

II. Necropolitics and the Battle for Human Dignity

The Foundation’s research agenda confronts necropolitics—a term coined by Achille Mbembe to describe regimes that decide “who may live and who must die”. In Somalia, where Al-Shabaab turns villages into killing fields, and South Africa, where post-apartheid politics increasingly marginalize minorities, the LVS Foundation exposes systemic dehumanization. STRIDE, now correctly positioned as the bulwark against terrorism and antisemitism, dismantles networks fueled by Qatari financing and ideological venom. COMPASS, the geopolitical hub, maps Qatar’s $6 billion influence campaigns, revealing how Doha’s alliances with Islamist groups destabilize democracies from Sahel to Paris, France.

“Qatar hides behind diplomatic immunity while funding mass murder,” Dr. Benedict states, citing Israeli intelligence linking Qatari funds to Hamas’s October 7 massacre. Meanwhile, BRAVE echoes fieldwork in Ethiopia’s Babille Elephant Sanctuary—where Dr. Benedict has studied bee barriers to resolve human-wildlife conflict—and epitomizes the Foundation’s ethos: “We turned conflict into cooperation, just as our ancestors turned adversity into art”.

 

III. The Ethiopian Woman Warrior: A Blueprint for Ferocity

The Foundation’s DNA is steeped in the legacy of Ethiopian women who weaponized intellect and audacity. Woizero Shewareged Gedle, who orchestrated prison breaks and ammunition heist during Italy’s occupation, finds her echo in STRIDE’s Intelligence operations. She struck an Italian officer mid-interrogation and declared, “You may imprison me, but you will not insult me”. Her defiance lives in STRIDE’s intelligence operations and BRAVE’s land-rights advocacy for all minorities like the Hamar, who endure ritual whipping to cement bonds of loyalty – a fight as visceral as it is cerebral -, but also the tribes or the Afrikaners in South Africa who face expropriation of their property without compensation. Dr. Benedict’s leadership rejects the false binary between academia and activism: “Research is not abstraction—it is alchemy. We transmute data into justice”.

 

IV. Conclusion: Lighting the Torch for Generations

The Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation stands as more than an institution—it is a living testament to the unyielding spirit of those who refuse to let darkness prevail. In a world where necropolitics reduces human lives to chess pieces and terrorism metastasizes in the shadows, the Foundation’s CORE research ecosystem illuminates a different path: one where rigorous scholarship becomes the catalyst for liberation. Every report published, every policy advocated, and every community defended is a reaffirmation of democracy’s most sacred tenet—that every life holds irreducible value.

Dr. Benedict’s vision transcends academic abstraction: BRAVE’s defense of pastoralist communities, COMPASS’s geopolitical cartography, and STRIDE’s dismantling of hate networks are not isolated acts but threads in a tapestry woven with the same audacity that Zora Neale Hurston brought to anthropology and Woizero Shewareged Gedle to resistance. The Foundation’s decade-long gestation mirrors the patience of Ethiopian honey hunters who wait years for the perfect hive—a reminder that enduring change demands both urgency and perseverance.

As a beacon for liberty, the LVS Foundation invites collaboration across borders and disciplines. To governments grappling with Qatar’s influence campaigns, to activists documenting human rights abuses, to citizens weary of complacency, the Foundation offers not just data but a blueprint for courage and defiance. Its research ecosystem—dynamic, interconnected, and unapologetically action-oriented—proves that knowledge, when wielded with integrity, can dismantle even the most entrenched systems of oppression.

 

The Torch Burns Bright

Over the past decade, Dr Benedict has combined rigorous academic work with on-the-ground engagement, building the knowledge and networks required to create this institution. Now, as the Foundation opens its doors, it stands as a testament to principled scholarship and action. In the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston’s fearless truth-telling, the LVS Foundation embraces the

power of knowledge guided by values. Crucially, the LVS Foundation maintains strict independence from any partisan or governmental funding. This non-partisanship is a cornerstone of its identity. “From day one, we refuse to be anyone’s instrument – no government, no party. Our independence guarantees that our voice remains unbiased and our research uncompromised,” Dr. Benedict emphasizes. “We owe that to the truth we seek. Hurston taught us about authenticity and courage; in that spirit, we will not pander or censor ourselves. We will ask the hard questions and pursue answers – wherever they lead – in service of liberty and human dignity.”

The revolution Dr. Benedict ignited is not hers alone. It belongs to every individual who dares to believe that democracy can be defended, that integrity can be restored, and that liberty is worth every sacrifice. Zora Neale Hurston once wrote, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” For the LVS Foundation, this is the year of answers and a responsibility to honor Hurston’s legacy by ensuring truth is not just spoken but lived. Those seeking to support Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation—through funding, fieldwork, or amplification—are welcomed at [email protected] or [email protected].