A ‘big, beautiful deal’, America’s aerospace ‘revolution’ and other commentary

Iran-Israel war: A ‘Big, Beautiful Deal’

“Proponents of an American strike believe that we have no realistic choice other than to help Israel do as thorough a job as possible in setting back Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” contends The New York Times’ Bret Stephens. True, after Trump drops bunker busters on the Fordow nuclear site, the question is “what comes afterward.” But the president can follow that up with “a diplomatic bunker buster on Tehran”: lifting economic sanctions and forcing the Israelis to stop the bombings. “Nobody, perhaps even President Trump himself, knows for sure whether the United States will wind up joining Israel in launching military strikes on Iran.” But “there’s a big, beautiful deal to be struck here. For all sides.”

Tech watch: America’s Aerospace ‘Revolution’

“From LAX to coastal San Diego,” dozens of new firms are “embracing the country’s emerging ‘hard tech’ revolution,” cheers Joel Kotkin at UnHerd. Including around 40 spinoffs of SpaceX, they make everything — largely for aerospace — “from drones to engines, drilling systems to satellites.” Together, they can “restore” America’s “blue-collar prosperity.” Given the “military implications” of these products, these firms embrace a “Right-wing patriotism” and so threaten to change corporate culture. Yet “the biggest pool of money” is not from the Defense Department but the “burgeoning space industry.” And the “technology looks set to dominate our century. For if those robots and satellites are all impressive enough in theory, they could yet be used as a geopolitical battering ram” — with US innovators as “riposte to Chinese central planning.”

Libertarian: Czechs to the Rescue in Ukraine

“Through online fundraisers organized by community platforms like ‘Gift for Putin,’ ‘Team for Ukraine,’ or ‘Just Retribution,’ Czech citizens have donated millions of dollars toward” arms for Ukraine, marvels Miroslav Hanušniak at Reason. These include much-needed rifle magazines, howitzer shells, a Black Hawk helicopter and “more than $11.5 million toward the direct purchase of First Person View drones.” Czechs “show no signs of slowing down. New initiatives continue to emerge, finding creative ways to support the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” In neighboring Slovakia, citizens defied their Russian-leaning “government’s stance and joined the fundraising efforts, contributing millions.” It’s a reminder that “real power and meaningful change do not always come from parliaments.”

Defense beat: Space — Aukus’ Final Frontier

“It’s time for Aukus,” the Australia, US and UK alliance, “to grow,” argues Scott Morrison at The Wall Street Journal, and Trump “is the right person for the job.” Aukus “enables Australia’s acquisition of its first nuclear-powered sub fleet” and “facilitates cooperation on advanced military capabilities,” notes the former Australian prime minister. But “if our nations are serious about deterrence, then we must prepare for new theaters of geopolitical competition” — particularly space. Aukus should be expanded to consolidate “cooperation across launch systems, satellite architecture, cybersecurity, data integration and industrial innovation.” It must ensure that space “is secured by free nations, not our enemies. American and Australia have stood shoulder to shoulder on land, at sea and in the skies. Now we must do the same in orbit.”

Hispanic pastor: Riots Hurt Protesters’ Cause

“Once more, the streets of Los Angeles are filled with chaos” because of “modern-day anarchists,” blasts Samuel Rodriguez for The Hill. Blame it on Team Biden’s border “failure,” which “permitted millions to enter our country without any real verification process.” Now “the majority of these riots are being led, organized, and amplified by Antifa factions and ultra-left progressive groups whose mission is not reform but total revolution.” These thugs are “protesting the deportation of individuals who are violent criminals, rapists, murderers, or pedophiles.” “There is a legitimate space for expressing concern over the deportation of longstanding immigrants who have lived here peacefully,” but “these riots hurt and did not help their cause. This lawlessness is antithetical to everything the immigrant rights movement hopes to achieve.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board