If you’re confused about how to feel right now, just listen to AOC or Bernie Sanders and do the opposite. Opinion.
During the successful strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, the usual chorus of critics like—Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Hakeem Jeffries, and others— raised alarms over the prospect of a “regional war.” But their framing was disingenuous. It was a cover-up in order to attempt to slow down Israel’s defeat of Iran and her enemies.
The regional war AOC feared has already been underway for nearly 20 months. It did not begin with Israel’s surgical strikes on Iranian facilities, nor with American bombings. It began with Hamas’s October 7th attack and continued when Iran and its axis of terror—Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Iraq unleashed aggression across multiple fronts, attempting to encircle Israel and destroy it.
When AOC spoke of “regional war,” we wondered: with whom, exactly? Egypt? Jordan? Saudi Arabia? The UAE? These nations are not only not looking for war with Israel—they’re increasingly cooperating, either openly or quietly, because they share a common adversary: Iran.
The true “regional actor” in this conflict is Iran. And Israel has dealt it a series of blows that have exposed the limits of its power. The Islamic Republic’s retaliatory capacity—once feared—has proven unable to come close to matching Israel’s capacity, let alone the United States. Its proxies are decimated , its economy is in shambles, and its attempt at military deterrence failed spectacularly.
Let us not forget: the United States, the most powerful military on Earth, is not and cannot be existentially threatened by Iran. The war has shown that neither can Israel, which has demonstrated both defensive prowess and offensive lethality in the face of the Iranian regime.
So what, then, is the real concern behind the handwringing? Is it fear of asymmetric terror? Possibly. Iran has long used terrorism as a strategic tool. But if the concern were truly about global instability, then the primary focus should be on preventing Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon. Because if Tehran were to go nuclear, it wouldn’t just trigger Israeli action—it would spark a nuclear arms race across the region, with Saudi Arabia and others rushing to catch up. That’s the real threat to regional and global security.
No, this wasn’t about avoiding a regional war—it was about stalling Israel’s strategic success. It was about throwing cold water on a clear and necessary shift in the balance of power, one that favors Israel and her regional partners over a faltering Iranian regime. It was about discomfort with the idea of a Western-aligned victory—of Israel and the United States winning.
If you’re confused about how to feel right now, just listen to AOC and Bernie Sanders and do the opposite.
Because Israel did not merely survive. It won. So did the United States. And the United States and Israel worked together as a team in ways that were never seen before. That’s not a cause for fear. That’s a cause for celebration.
Daniel Rosenis the Co-founder of a new initiative called Emissary4all which is an app to organize people on social media by ideology not geography . He is the Co-host of the podcast called “Recalibration”. You can reach him at drosen@emissary4all.org
