The United States has allies in this battle with Iran, though you’d be hard-pressed to prove it from coverage in mainstream media. Israel has lost 18 of its citizens, our Gulf allies at least 20. America has seen 13 of its soldiers and airmen killed in the theater.
When allies fight beside you and absorb the blows that the enemy wishes it could rain down on our country, we in America ought to at least bring their stories forward. Israel especially has been at war with Iran since its proxy Hamas launched the attack on October 7, 2023, with its invasion of Israel and the massacre that followed. Israel is now fighting alongside our forces in the skies above Iran (and perhaps on the ground with Special Forces and secret services!?) as well as waging a fierce battle in southern Lebanon after another Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, renewed its attacks on northern Israel.
Israeli journalists and analysts are many and excellent. On X you can follow former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. @DrMichaelOren, and from the next generation @havivrettiggur, @Nadav_Eyal and @AmitSegal. Amit and Nadav both have free newsletters. Podcaster Dan Senor hosts Nadav and Amit appear weekly on his “Insider” edition of the “Call Me Back” podcast.
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As our ally, Israel has been at war since that massacre of 10/7, and their extraordinary contribution to this battle — which for them has two fronts and incoming missiles many times a day — is hard to describe. But Americans ought to at least be aware of what the war looks like from their point of view (and from that of our Gulf allies though I know next to nothing about which accounts to follow there.)
An ally like Israel is an immeasurable boon. Fox News often has Trey Yingst reporting from there and Lucas Tomlinson roaming around the Gulf. I can’t judge the other networks because I don’t watch them, but the online platforms provide a story or two or three a day, and much of it is outright defeatist or at least demoralizing, even though the dominance of the U.S. and Israeli militaries over the shattered Iranian forces is unquestionable.
When the war concludes, there will be enough time to review in depth what was not covered or how the deep bias against President Trump and/or Prime Minister Netanyahu in mainstream news organizations impacted war coverage, but denying that bias is like denying that a war is going on.
Right now, however, the American and Israeli militaries are methodically smashing the military the Iranian radical regime has built up over 47 years. If it was a boxing match, the referee would stop the fight. But it’s war and the target list is long.
U.S. Central Command and the Israeli Defense Forces both operate excellent X accounts and President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have been frequently available to the public. President Trump has probably set a record for questions asked and answered in the first three weeks of any major military action. There is simply no reason for anyone to complain about a lack of information about the war.
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It is also not hard to find out what our ally is doing and the burden they are bearing. The tiny slice of America that hates Israel as a result of dark and ancient impulses (or lucre) doesn’t amount to many, though they are noisy. Ordinary Americans ought to know what our allies, especially Israel, are doing. It’s not hard to find out. Good guests from across the Israeli political spectrum are not hard to find.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the equal of any malign nation over the past half century. Its hatred of the U.S. and the West generally is unsurpassed, and they have never kept that hatred a secret. Its complete defeat would be an enormous boon to the world and the Iranian people.
Need proof? Read last year’s excellent book by Vali Nasr, the Majid Khaddouri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C.: “Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History.”
This battle is the story of this decade, and its outcome one of those very few-and-far between hinge points of history which are obvious as they occur, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall. That the coverage of the war and our allies in it take a back seat to, well, anything else at all is astonishing.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show” heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
