Religious triumphalism—the idea that those with true beliefs about the divine ought to dominate politically those without them—has largely faded from Western societies, writes Richard Landes, but maintains currency among many Muslims. Westerners at a loss to understand this set of beliefs are especially susceptible to its dangers:

In the world of victimization discourse so prevalent on campuses today, . . . triumphalist Muslims have learned that, when attacking the West, they can lead with their glass chin: how dare you offend us so? They can, thereby, maneuver a conflict-averse Western culture into conceding and placating them. . . .

As a result, there’s a significant and troubling overlap between Western sensitivity to minority feelings and Muslim triumphalist attitudes toward infidels. . . . [W]hile Westerners think they’re being generous, triumphalist Muslims see them complying with their demands, behaving as proleptic dhimmi [protected but subjugated religious communities], who submit without even being conquered.

Analyzing the recent direct Iranian attack on Israel, and Israel’s security situation more generally, Michael Oren looks to the 2015 agreement to restrain Iran’s nuclear program. That, and President Biden’s efforts to resurrect the deal after Donald Trump left it, are in his view the source of the current crisis:

Of the original motivations for the deal—blocking Iran’s path to the bomb and transforming Iran into a peaceful nation—neither remained. All Biden was left with was the ability to kick the can down the road and to uphold Barack Obama’s singular foreign-policy achievement.

In order to achieve that result, the administration has repeatedly refused to punish Iran for its malign actions:

Historians will survey this inexplicable record and wonder how the United States not only allowed Iran repeatedly to assault its citizens, soldiers, and allies but consistently rewarded it for doing so. They may well conclude that in a desperate effort to avoid getting dragged into a regional Middle Eastern war, the U.S. might well have precipitated one.

While America’s friends in the Middle East, especially Israel, have every reason to feel grateful for the vital assistance they received in intercepting Iran’s missile and drone onslaught, they might also ask what the U.S. can now do differently to deter Iran from further aggression. . . . Tehran will see this weekend’s direct attack on Israel as a victory—their own—for their ability to continue threatening Israel and destabilizing the Middle East with impunity.

Israel, of course, must respond differently. Our target cannot simply be the Iranian proxies that surround our country and that have waged war on us since October 7, but, as the Saudis call it, “the head of the snake.”