What if the greatest danger in world politics is not military weakness, but the illusion that military power can guarantee lasting security? In The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, Professor Emeritus Louis René Beres argues that even decisive victories cannot eliminate the deeper forces driving war, terrorism and disorder. For Israel, as for every state, repeated conflict may deliver temporary advantages but never permanent safety. Drawing on Freud and Hobbes, Beres calls for a durable international legal order founded on cooperation and human unity. In a nuclear age, security cannot be achieved alone. Permanent war is not realism. It is wish fulfillment.
Israel and the Illusion of Permanent Victory
by
July 2026
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