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Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 15, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Do you think that Israel bit more than they chew with the Iran situation? I doubt they have the logistics for sustained campaign and it is far from sure that they will be able to destabilize the regime or plunge it in a civil war enough for the time that they have.

Short answer: No. Neither Iran nor its allies can do fatal damage to Israel, Israel can sustain air operations against Iran for a period of time, then things will cool off for a while. Iran's regime is not going to fall, at least not in a way salutary to Israel, but neither is Israel's going to fall, at least not in a way that achieves Iran's goals.

Long answer: it depends on the timescale and how you define "Israel."

The dreams of "modern" "western" "tech hub" Israel have suffered, and may in the short term become impossible, as a result of this conflict. I don't know that a modern tech economy can survive in a place that suffers missile attacks with regularity. And it's not clear where the off-ramp from here that leads to normalization of Israel's situation sits anymore. It's highly likely that Israel will face significant difficulties de-escalating on a permanent basis.

The goals of Netanyahu and his allies have been advanced, in that Bibi has another simmering conflict to stoke to remain in power.

The long term future of Israel probably ticks downward, but hey maybe AGI or whatever.