So whenever something big happens, particularly something really big, like a war that will change world history,

the first four questions you have to ask are these.

One, why did this happen?

Two, what was the point of it?

Three, where does it go from here?

And four, how do we respond? So let's assess the war in

Iran now ongoing in its second day and try to answer those four questions. First, why did this

happen? Now, in this case, there's a really simple answer. This happened because Israel wanted it to happen.

This is Israel's war. This is not the United States's war. This war is not being waged on behalf of

American national security objectives to make the United States safer or richer. This war is not

actually even about weapons mass destruction. Nukes, kembio, no, this war is waged, purely

because Israel wanted it to be waged. Now, why say that out loud this early in the conflict?

Isn't that dispiriting for, say, American troops fighting this war? Yes, it is. And we thought a lot

about whether it was wise or decent even to say

something like that out loud and have decided that it is for the following reason. First,

because the truth is always the only basis for wise decision-making. When you lie to yourself

or you lie to your people, you don't only commit,

well, a kind of moral crime by lying, but you also tend to hurt yourself. Huberous is the product

of lies, for example. You can get way over your skis if you're not honest with yourself and the people

around you about what's happening

and why it's happening. But long term, that is also true. In other words, it's important to say

why this war is happening because 50 years from now, people may not know. Your grandkids may

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