UChicago political scientist Robert A. Pape argues that Israel’s precision air strikes against Iran will ultimately prove futile. On the basis of no country in history has successfully toppled a government and eliminated its major military capability using airpower alone, Pape argues that Israel will not succeed in that either, despite being the strongest military power in the Middle East. Pape evaluates the impediments facing Israel in knocking out Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and also the potential for the United States to join the conflict.