America dropped the hammer on Iran with a Wow!

Following Trump’s Saturday evening address to the nation announcing “Operation Midnight Hammer,” we knew two things: the United States had attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow—and the operation was reported to be very successful. It wasn’t until the Sunday morning briefing by Defense Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, that the full scale of the operation was revealed—and it was STUNNING in every detail.

The scope of the operation was incredible — seven B-2 stealth bombers armed with fourteen 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs (colloquially known as bunker-busting “mother of all bombs”),125 support aircraft (including fighter jets and aerial refuelers), and two dozen Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles launched from a submarine.

Remarkably, Iran’s air defense systems failed to detect or engage the incoming aircraft. No U.S. assets were fired upon, and Iranian fighter jets didn’t scramble. Iran wasn’t caught with its pants down—it has no pants. The lack of response underscored the effectiveness of American stealth technology, the tactical and political misdirection employed—and the pathetic state of Iran’s defenses.

Operation Midnight Hammer was the result of weeks of intense planning, involving nearly every branch of the U.S. military. It mobilized hundreds of domestic and international strategists and coordinators—and thousands of service members in execution roles.

Astonishingly, this complex, multi-week operation was kept entirely under wraps. No leaks. In Washington, a political environment that leaks like a rusty bucket.  That alone was a remarkable accomplishment.

The secrecy surrounding the planning can be attributed to two factors. First, Hegseth’s strict anti-leak policy and his obsessive determination to identify and root out leakers – including individuals he had initially appointed. Second, the administration’s sophisticated use of misdirection.

The Defense Department engaged in tactical misdirection by sending several bombers toward the Pacific Ocean in the direction of Guam, while the actual strike force was departing quietly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. But that wasn’t the only sleight of hand.

Periodic, often vague, statements from Trump—and the speculative frenzy that followed—also served as deliberate misdirection. The White House allowed analysts to question Trump’s mental state at any given moment. Even after the final decision to attack had been made—days before the strike—Trump remained silent. This led the media and Iran to believe that no decision was imminent.

I believe—and much of the public record suggests—that the Israeli strikes on Iran were known to and supported by the United States from the beginning. I further believe that Trump and Netanyahu were aligned strategically and tactically from day one—the day Israel launched its first strike. From that moment, regime change may well have been on the agenda — with the only questions were when and how.

Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of the operation was that Iran never saw it coming. American missiles and aircraft entered and exited Iranian airspace without a single shot fired by Iran’s security or defense forces—even at sites widely considered to be the most heavily protected. And it wasn’t just Iran’s failure to detect the attack.  No other of America’s adversarial nations appeared to spot it either, making it impossible to offer Iran advance warning. That this was accomplished without flaw is a testament to the capabilities of the Trump administration and the military leadership.

The scope and complexity of Operation Midnight Hammer was—as Trump might say—unlike anything in American history (with the exception of the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II. But unlike Normandy, this mission was accomplished without a single loss of American life or equipment.  But I digress.)

It would be remiss not to note that the success of this operation challenges the criticisms that Hegseth is incompetent or that the generals involved are mere cronies of President Trump. Regardless of one’s opinions about the rationale, motivation, or legitimacy of Operation Midnight Hammer, its military execution was a HUGE success to the credit of Hegseth and the generals.

Addressing Iran’s long-standing pursuit of nuclear weapons has spanned multiple administrations—Republican and Democrat alike. This operation may go down as a defining chapter in that ongoing effort.  It is the first time that the United States took serious action to diminish Iran’s ability to wage terrorism directly or through proxies – and stop Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.  For 46 years, presidential administrations have accepted the status quo in terms of Iran, even as the status quo worsened each year.

It is certainly reasonable to wonder what lies ahead.  But at least we can take comfort in knowing that it is not the old status quo. Israel and the United States have produced the greatest victories so far over world terrorism in half a century – and they are not done yet.

So, there ‘tis.