Israel pulled off a "master stroke" by taking out Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the United Nations, as his trip lulled the terrorist leader into feeling secure, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax Sunday.
"We've seen Mossad and the Israelis running on all eights in terms of strategy," Holt said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report." "They're leading with strategy, not weapons, not money. We saw it with the pagers and the devices after that created complete disarray and confusion in the Hezbollah ranks, not only there but in Tehran and with the Houthis as well."
And then there was the "master deception" that was played with Netanyahu, who canceled his speech to the United Nations General Assembly because of the war.
"All of a sudden, 72 hours prior, he goes 'You know what? I am going to make a speech because I don't like what all these people are saying,'" said Holt.
That was "part of the operation," he continued.
"He heads to New York [and] Nasrallah was already comfortable," said Holt. "He said 'He'll never hit me while he's in the U.N. Bring all the Iranian generals in. Let's have a master strategy meeting about what we're going to do to Israel.'"
But Israel "razed the whole place" because their attack was not expected, and "the entire leadership of Hezbollah is now wiped out, " he continued.
Meanwhile, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, also on Sunday's program, said mixed messages are coming from Washington on the attack because "we have the high school debating team in charge."
"They should stand back and let the adults in the room do their job," he said. "The only organization within the U.S. government that's trying to help as best as they can do is the Pentagon. I've been very critical of [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin, but he said positive things on X yesterday about these attacks. We've quietly taken out 27 ISIS terrorists in Syria over the past couple of weeks."
Nasrallah, he added, "has the blood of 400 Americans on his hands."
"He had a $7 million warrant on his head and yet somehow we weren't helping, so at this point, the best bet is to let the Israelis, the adults in the room, do their job while the Biden White House sits back and does absolutely nothing. That's their best course."
Meanwhile, Holt said he does not believe Iran will take matters into its hands rather than rely on its proxies.
"What we're seeing is they're taking away things that Iran had counted on and the ayatollah now doesn't know how badly he is infiltrated, so there's a lot of confusion amongst them," he said.
However, Holt said he's concerned that the Iranian regime could take action in the United States.
"If the Iranian regime gets backed into a corner, all they have to do is make a phone call and activate all these terror cells that they set up, because our borders czar left the door open and imperiled us with millions of fighting-age men, [who] are in this country," Holt said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.