Muddled thinking on Gaza
I am not a military expert, but I remember when the US forces invaded Iraq, the idea was to use "shock and awe" as propounded by Secty of Defense Colin Powell and Gen. Schwartzkop This was the doctrine of using "overwhelming force" to overcome and dismay any opponent, so that they are cowed and easily defeated. I don't believe that "proportionality" in warfare has been used since the stone age. Because Hamas fires ca. 80 rockets a day at us are we supposed to fire 80 back at them, now that's proportionality, but it's not a winning strategy. In order to win a war the side that wants to win and has the capability must use disproportionality! Wouldn't it be stupid for the IDF to leave its planes, its tanks and its shells behind when they went over the border into Gaza? Who of those criticizing Israel for the disproportionality of its response to Hamas aggression could look any Israeli in the eye and maintain that nonsense?
The reason the IDF invaded Gaza is because the aerial camapaign, although it caused great damage to Hamas infrastructure, did not stop the barrage of rockets from Gaza. Yesterday 40 rockets were fired into Israel and a bus was destroyed, a store was set on fire and an old lady was injured when her house received a direct hit. Some self-righteous idiots have said that the Palestinian toll in Gaza of ca. 450 dead is too large compared to the loss of Israeli lives, with 13 dead over the past 3 years and 4 since the start of Operation Cast Lead. So what should the IDF do, limit itself to kill only 17 and then go home? The fact is that the number of civilians killed in Gaza, ca. 60, is very small considering the density of the population and the scale of the attacks. This can only be because the IDF is taking every precaution to avoid civilian casualties, for example phoning people who live in specific houses (what Army has ever done this before?) and dropping 100,000 leaflets warning people to leave houses around Hamas targets embedded in civilian areas.
Here is a question for all those demonstrating on behalf of the Palestinians, which Palestinians do you support? The "moderate" Palestinians of the Fatah-controlled Palestine Authority, with which Israel is in negotiations based on a two-state solution, or the extremist Hamas Palestinians that control the Gaza Strip. Hamas has been labelled a terrorist organization by the UN, the EU and the US, and has refused to recognize the existence of Israel. Not only did it take control of Gaza by an illegal coup in which many Fatah operatives were killed and injured, but during the current conflict according to Khaled Abu Toameh, the Jerusalem Post's Arab Affairs correspondent, Hamas has murdered 35 Fatah prisoners in Gaza and "knee-capped" or mutilated 75 more detainees. So let's be clear, there is a vast difference between supporting the Palestine Authority and supporting Hamas in Gaza. The former want a negotiated settlement with Israel while the latter want to destroy Israel and then start a world-wide Caliphate. Take your pick.
The reason the IDF invaded Gaza is because the aerial camapaign, although it caused great damage to Hamas infrastructure, did not stop the barrage of rockets from Gaza. Yesterday 40 rockets were fired into Israel and a bus was destroyed, a store was set on fire and an old lady was injured when her house received a direct hit. Some self-righteous idiots have said that the Palestinian toll in Gaza of ca. 450 dead is too large compared to the loss of Israeli lives, with 13 dead over the past 3 years and 4 since the start of Operation Cast Lead. So what should the IDF do, limit itself to kill only 17 and then go home? The fact is that the number of civilians killed in Gaza, ca. 60, is very small considering the density of the population and the scale of the attacks. This can only be because the IDF is taking every precaution to avoid civilian casualties, for example phoning people who live in specific houses (what Army has ever done this before?) and dropping 100,000 leaflets warning people to leave houses around Hamas targets embedded in civilian areas.
Here is a question for all those demonstrating on behalf of the Palestinians, which Palestinians do you support? The "moderate" Palestinians of the Fatah-controlled Palestine Authority, with which Israel is in negotiations based on a two-state solution, or the extremist Hamas Palestinians that control the Gaza Strip. Hamas has been labelled a terrorist organization by the UN, the EU and the US, and has refused to recognize the existence of Israel. Not only did it take control of Gaza by an illegal coup in which many Fatah operatives were killed and injured, but during the current conflict according to Khaled Abu Toameh, the Jerusalem Post's Arab Affairs correspondent, Hamas has murdered 35 Fatah prisoners in Gaza and "knee-capped" or mutilated 75 more detainees. So let's be clear, there is a vast difference between supporting the Palestine Authority and supporting Hamas in Gaza. The former want a negotiated settlement with Israel while the latter want to destroy Israel and then start a world-wide Caliphate. Take your pick.
posted by Jack Cohen at 4:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home