David v. Goliath

Since 1967, there has never been a clearer example of David v. Goliath (Eylon Levy).

Dan Senor: Look at this map. Really crystallizes how incredible what Israel is doing. Not just the distance, but the size. As @saulsinger put it to me, “It’s kind of like if Cuba were able to render the US helpless” (Senor).

What Israel has done to Iran parallels—somewhat—Isreal’s quick work with Hezbollah. The parallel breaks down when you consider the distance, the military size, and the overall size of the respective adversaries. Distance: Tehran is nearly a thousand miles from Tel Aviv (985 miles; Distance).

Hezbollah is in Lebanon which shares a border with Israel. Hezbollah is estimated to have 30,000 active fighters and 20,000 reserves. Lebanon has a population of 5.4 million, covering 4,000 sq. miles. (CIA; CSIS).

Iran has a population of 88 million, covering 636,000 square miles. Their military size is estimated conservatively at 125,000 (GlobalEdge; CIA; Sky).

By contrast: Israel’s population is 9.4 million, covering 8500 sq. miles. Israel has some 170,000 in their military, supported by 465,000 reservists (CIA; WSJ).

The military leadership of the Iranian republic has been pretty well decapitated. The numbers of those eliminated are astounding:  Chief of the General Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Head of the Emergency Response Headquarters Lieutenant General Gholam Ali Rashid, Head of the Emergency Response Headquarters Brigadier General Ali Shadmani, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami, Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of Iran’s Armed Forces Gholam al Marhab, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps UAV Unit Brigadier General Taher Pour, Commander of Air Defense Brigadier General Daoud Shihyan, Commander of the Surface-to-Surface Missile Array Brigadier General Mohammad Bagheri, Head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi, Deputy Head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq.  Long War Journal: This list of eliminated military leaders is not exhaustive. As the conflict persists, Israel will likely continue targeting senior figures within the Iranian military establishment. In turn, Iran may seek to carry out similar actions against Israeli military leaders (Long War Journal).