Imagine, for a moment, that the map were rearranged.

Not the politics. Not the alliances. Just the geography.

Imagine that, over a period of years, another country—or even an American state—absorbed what Israel has faced: sustained rocket fire, missile barrages, drone incursions, cross-border terror attacks, and coordinated threats from multiple fronts simultaneously.

But a rolling reality.

What would that dystopian scenario actually look like?

And more importantly: how would the world respond?

For years, rockets are launched daily from nearby territories. Cities install public bomb shelters. Schools practice missile-alert drills alongside fire drills. Highways freeze mid-traffic as sirens sound. Families calculate distances to reinforced rooms the way Midwesterners track tornado shelters.

Airports periodically shut down—not once, but repeatedly.

Children learn the difference between incoming rocket trajectories before they learn algebra.

Tourism collapses, then partially returns, then collapses again.

Now imagine a single morning when thousands of missiles are launched simultaneously from several neighboring regions while armed militants infiltrate coastal towns.

The response would not be debated.

The United States would mobilize overwhelming military force within hours.

Congress would vote near-unanimously.

Allies across NATO would issue statements of solidarity.

World leaders would arrive declaring America’s right to defend its citizens unquestionable.

The language would be clear: self-defense.

The South Korea Parallel

Consider South Korea, living under the shadow of North Korea’s artillery and missile threat.

When provocations occur—missile launches, border incidents, cyber attacks—the international community largely accepts South Korea’s defensive posture as legitimate. Deterrence is understood as necessity, not aggression.

Because sustained threat changes moral intuition.

When danger is hypothetical, restraint is easy to demand.

When danger is chronic, defense becomes survival.

The........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)