America and Israel are fighting the same battle: elected governments versus unelected power. A recent Washington Post report says senior U.S. commanders warned Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that renewing war with Iran would be “unsustainable.” Commanders should give candid private advice. The scandal is leaking that advice to pressure the elected leadership.

America remains the most powerful military on earth. Costs must be explained. Policy is still decided by voters and the president they chose — not by officials who think their judgment should override an election.

Israelis know this fight. For years, figures in the legal, security, intelligence, and bureaucratic establishments have blocked government policy while selective leaks shape the headlines. That pattern helped produce October 7: warnings withheld from Netanyahu, legal constraints slowing the response, then almost no accountability for the officials who failed. Terrorists must be punished. So must the officials who left Israel exposed.