That was the biggest surprise from my interview with Richard Goldberg.
He's spent years warning about Iran, defending Israel's security concerns, and arguing that Tehran's nuclear ambitions and proxy network pose an existential threat.
So I expected him to argue for more military action; instead, he kept coming back to something much bigger: the wars have to end eventually.
Not because Iran has suddenly become peaceful, or Hezbollah no longer poses a threat, but because it's unsustainable.
He said time and again that this is the moment to turn their military victories into political ones.
The Gulf needs to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. Hezbollah has to be prevented from rebuilding, and Lebanon has to become sovereign again.
Because if none of that happens, then all the military success of the past year simply resets the clock for the next war.
That struck me.
Because if someone as hawkish as Richard is talking about ending the cycle rather than extending it, then the question is whether Israel knows what winning actually looks like anymore.
Because if every victory simply leads to another war, then at some point, even winning starts to look a lot like losing.
@Rich_Goldberg
