At minimum, this was a mission that went significantly off plan. At worst, it may represent a level of loss and risk that is not being fully disclosed. And right now, those elements are telling a story that feels far less certain than the one coming out of Washington.

INTRODUCTION: The War Behind the War When the United States launches strikes against Iran, the official language is always familiar: deterrence, stability, security, retaliation. But beneath the public briefing slides and the Pentagon soundbites, another battlefield opens — one less visible, but potentially more corrosive. It is the battlefield of perception. “Operation Epstein Fury,” as critics have dubbed the escalation, isn’t merely about Tehran’s centrifuges or regional p