At the beginning of last week's article, I basically asked us to wait until this next article to hopefully answer a lot of my very uncomfortable questions. I did mention that the political swamp – as it is presently and affectionately known – would be stirred like a pot of age-old stew made up of just as old rhetoric. I hit the jackpot on that one. Let's toss in some of the latest words.

"Nuclear weapons are the last thing on Iran's mind now! Early U.S. intel assessment suggests the strikes only set back Iran's nuclear program by months. Over 40 years of hostility towards Israel won't stop because of one event."

The news folks are into the mix. One popular station has blasted, "How dare other newscasters question the validity, heroic, courageous and leadership by suggesting the bombing was insufficient!"

The other popular station asked, "Should we not inspect the sites thoroughly before making a conclusive decision?"

Those of us who are or were in the military know that almost every first report of whatever happened was truly filled with guesswork and written by some unknown scribe trained to use very long and sometimes very complex wording. The reports were mostly like describing a sporting event the writer never witnessed. It should have read, "We won or we lost. Details later."

The fact is simply, "Only good, accurate, honest history can give us an acceptable answer.” We can choose to believe it or not. Check me out on that.

At this point in time, Israel and Iran seem to be in a very fragile cease-fire, which may change before this page is finished. As far as Israel is concerned – and the news from the home front is pretty heated – there's still a war in Gaza and tension in the West Bank. From my point of view, local Israelites seem more anxious about what is going on in their country than being worried about Iran.

Allow me to back up a tad. Our administration has – for the most part – backed away from the "What has happened!" to a let's wait and see what's next because we've got our hands full with the "Big Beautiful Bill" that's in the hands of congress. 

I feel sorry for the Republicans and Democrats who have been listening to the Senate staff read the 940-page report. Are we up in arms – as we should be – because our elected officials haven't the time to read it themselves? Were they going to be satisfied to vote yes or no on some extraordinarily long, complex, wordy and perhaps damaging legal document without knowing the contents? 

Well, to be fair, the congressional rules demand that all bills be read, but how many are sleeping, playing with their phones or being conveniently outside the building? But facts are facts and majorities in both houses have said they were for or against, regardless of the data.

We are certainly more than nameless voters!

Back to where I began. Where are we when it comes to the Middle East? I refer you to Netanyahu's book "Bibi, My Story," published in 1993. Here are the sentences that I believe tells his story. "I helped secure the life of the Jewish state and it's future. Palestinian politics are hopelessly mired in their extremist fantasy of annihilation."

Now, I believe this last sentence comes from his heart. "Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand."

What does he have to say to us in today's conflict? "Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran. That was truly extraordinary and something no one else dared to do. Our victory is your victory!"

I leave with the question someone asked, "Assessments appear to state that the attacks on the nuclear sites may have caused considerable damage, but they may be back up and running within a few months."

My reply, "And?"

These are tough days and times for all of us. However, our world is in God's hands and He will have the last Word. His Word gives us hope, courage and comfort. His action gives us life!

Thanks, God!