Nothing says peace like a codename, Operation Epic Fury. On Feb 28, leaders in Washington and Jerusalem speak of missile bases and air defenses as if vocabulary disinfects violence. They point to Tehran and say leadership targets with the calm tone of a committee meeting, and it is a performance. Counterargument: supporters insist this is pre-emptive self-defense, that Iranian missiles and IRGC planning leave no safe pause. Fine, but then admit the real bet: you are gambling that escalation stays neatly inside your spreadsheet, really? The UN Security Council can meet, condemn, applaud, do nothing, and the rockets still decide the timetable. Every regime-change sermon in history promises a quick moral sunrise; every time, the shadows stay for years. Call me cynical, but this is a damn expensive way to learn that fear is contagious.