I had a conversation with a US war veteran and military strategist (name not disclosed for confidentiality) with decades of experience, including high-ranking positions in the American military. One key lesson from our discussion was the importance of viewing conflicts as chess games, not checkers.
He posed a scenario: What if the US launched an attack on Iraq using a new stealth jet that evaded all radars and succeeded? While many might see this as a strategic victory, he argued otherwise. Revealing such advanced capabilities prematurely could ultimately disadvantage the attacker.
In the case of Iran’s recent attack, the scale, diversity, and weapons used forced Israel to reveal much of its anti-missile technology across the region. Although Iran didn’t deploy unknown weapons, the attack provided invaluable intelligence on Israel’s defense systems and US installations in the region.
