Winston Churchill once said, “Everyone can recognize history when it happens. Everyone can recognize history after it has happened; but it is only the wise person who knows at the moment what is vital and permanent, what is lasting and memorable.”
In his 1967 book, Variety of Men, British novelist and scientist C.P. Snow observed:
Judgment is a fine thing: but it is not all that uncommon. Deep insight is much rarer. Churchill had flashes of that kind of insight, dug up from his own nature, independent of influences, owing nothing to anyone outside himself. Sometimes it is a better guide than judgment: in the ultimate crisis when he came to power, there were times when judgment itself could, though it did not need to, become a source of weakness.When Hitler came to power, Churchill did not use judgment but one of his deep insights. This was absolute danger, there was no easy way round. That was what we needed. It was a unique occasion in our history. It had to be grasped by a nationalist leader. Plenty of people on the left could see the danger, but they did not know how the country had to be seized and unified.
The recent, masterfully executed effort to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capability is a rare instance of heeding the lessons of history. Both Israel’s and America’s leaders showed remarkable insight and managed to prevent a grave danger for the free world and global stability.
To understand the magnitude of this achievement, it would be helpful to imagine what would have happened if Hitler had succeeded in developing nuclear weapons. Churchill would not have hesitated to do what Trump and Netanyahu have accomplished. The rabid anti-Semitism promoted by the Islamist regime in Iran is fully commensurate with that of Nazi Germany. It is further compounded by equally fanatic hatred of America and Western civilization. The free world has no choice but to take timely preventive measures to defend itself and its way of life.
Of course, the level of Trump- and Netanyahu-derangement syndrome displayed by leftist politicians, media outlets, and pundits has engendered much negative coverage that completely misrepresents and diminishes the impact of this swift, precise, and effective preemptive measure.
Such criticism is nothing new and should be recognized and exposed for its malicious falsehoods. As Margaret Thatcher once famously quipped, “If my critics saw me walking over the Thames, they would say it was because I couldn’t swim.”
No matter how great the actions of Trump and Netanyahu may be, their detractors would sooner see their countries burn than grant these two leaders the recognition they deserve. Undoubtedly, their collaborative effort to disarm Iran will stand as an extraordinary example of learning from the past to safeguard the future.
Nora D. Clinton is a Research Scholar at the Legal Insurrection Foundation. She was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. She holds a PhD in Classics and has published extensively on ancient documents on stone. In 2020, she authored the popular memoir Quarantine Reflections Across Two Worlds. Nora is a co-founder of two partner charities dedicated to academic cooperation and American values. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son.
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