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With the UN calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip an article written by Gary Brecher and first published in 2012 by NSFWCORP (now part of Pando), lessons from Gaza - suggesting that Palestinian durability may beat Israel's high-tech weaponry, remains remarkably relevant today.
What's going on in Gaza is war, but not the kind any commander from the past would understand. On paper, Israel should be winning easily, because they've got the weapons, the numbers, the organization. The weapons Hamas is firing into Israel are primitive things, unguided rocket artillery, the kind that couldn't hit the ground if it wasn't for the law of gravity. On the other side, the Israelis get the best weaponry the US can give them.
But it's not that simple. Israel may win this battle, but it's lost the war already. You see that in the confusion the IDF shows about what to do. They've tried stomping hard on Gaza. In late 2008 through early 2009, "Operation Cast Lead" sent IDF troops and planes smashing into this tiny overpopulated slum. They killed 1400 Palestinians, and it didn't do much but make everybody sick to their stomachs - including even some Israelis, once they got over their initial gloating.
(Score: 1) by Arik on Sunday July 13 2014, @11:39PM
A military problem? The existence of indigenous peoples is a military problem? Quite simply, that implies genocide.
A PR problem? It will all go away if we just convince Important People to quit paying any mind? No, that does not work either. The people are real, their suffering is real, and that is the problem. Ignoring the wound only causes it to fester, and that is how we got here. Treating it as a PR problem only makes sense if you define the problem as the prohibitions on genocide, in which case see above.
The problem is that the Israeli national narrative defies reality. It denies the existence of the very people it rules. It denies their past, their present, and their future. No Israeli government will ever be able to negotiate peace until a sufficient portion of the electorate escapes from the myths that have been built up to justify the occupation, and then you have the incumbent government working overtime to reinforce and extend the same myths, to rally the voters behind them.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?