Ariel Sharon was a sharp military genius whose own experience in the system put him in the unusual position that, despite his rank, he was always open to challenging the defense establishment consensus.
Sharon consistently did what he thought was the right thing to do for the nation.
That was, until he felt compelled to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip to keep his family out of jail.
Sharon chose family over country.
President Trump may not share Sharon's skill set, but over the past year this mantra has been drilled into him: No enrichment, no missiles, or no deal.
And at first, it seemed that Trump's premature halting of the fighting in Iran had to do with reluctance to put US "boots on the ground" in order to finish the job, then seemed a ploy to delay until after the Mondial, his own birthday and America's 250th, but the planned Friday deal-signing shunts all that aside.
Because with the mid-term elections rapidly approaching and the real possibility that a Democrat majority in the House could be the first domino to fall in a process sending him to prison and the loss of the Trump family fortune, President Trump is also pushing hard in a desperate move which puts family over country.
I honestly don't know how we are going to get out of this.
I honestly don't know what combination of technologies and alliances can meet the timeline which takes Iran, after this deal is signed, to possess such a massive number of long range ballistic missiles and launchers that we can no longer defend ourselves.
And to add to the challenge: the Iranians only have the deadline for our destruction slated for 9 September, 2040.
A patient Iran can build up those missiles without launching them for more than another decade if they so choose.
Hezbollah can do the same within the "quiet for quiet" arrangement.
So while Iran will have enough ballistic missiles to effectively destroy our country in a few years, they might opt to wait until our warnings are stripped of any credibility as we are ridiculed for repeatedly "crying wolf".
I listen to some podcasts from what might be considered mainline Democrats as well as elements in the right and when they talk about us it is clear that there is nothing we can do will placate them.
Making a deal with the Palestinian Arabs, even dividing Jerusalem and retreating to the "Auschwitz lines" of the pre-1967 borders, won't do the trick, so those on the left who find that mantra comforting are advised to give it up.
I honestly don't know how we are going to get out of this.
But I do know one thing: the less time we spend focused on assigning the blame (with an eye on how that might impact our own Knesset elections) and instead work, united, to meet this existential challenge, the greater our chances of success.
Because success isn't a political goal.
It is an existential need.
Dr. Aaron Lerner is head of IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis, since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations. Website: www.imra.org.il