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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: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday July 14 2014, @01:30PM
I have been watching this pageant all my life. Not because I want to, but because the American media are obsessed with Israel. Occasionally I think it might be nice, just for a change, to hear about religious hatreds and border disputes in other parts of the world that actually matter such as India/Pakistan/Kashmir. Alas, we get All-Israel-All-The-Time, wherein a minor country with less than the population of the greater Cleveland area and no discernible strategic value to the United States headlines the news almost every night. And I long ago stopped paying close attention to its drama because I have no dog in the fight, being neither Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, nor an evangelical Christian egging them on hoping it will hasten Armageddon and the Rapture.
But even I can tell that Israel does not want to make peace with the Palestinians under any circumstances because it would remove the justification for the massive amounts of aid that the US gives them. Though they have nuclear weapons (which technology they stole from us and tested jointly with South Africa in the 80's) and the most powerful military force in the Middle East, somehow they still have the American polity hornswoggled into believing that they are the victims. They have perfected the art of playing the victim card and viciously smearing anyone who dares point out the absurdity of the US-Israel relationship (see Waltz and Mearscheimer, the fathers of modern international relations theory, and what happened to them when they authored a paper on that subject).
I have no sympathy for jihadis who blow up women and kids with suicide bombs nor special feelings for the Palestinians as a tribe, but I hope they give Israel two black eyes and a bloody nose because I hate bullies. It seems Israel has taken in all the worst lessons of the 20th century, lebensraum, apartheid, state propaganda, and has mockingly slapped a "modern democracy" label on it all as both a ruse and a jab at foolish, naive Americans who believe that life is about anything but naked power and the ability to inflict organized cruelty.
Fight on, Palestinians. Kick Israel in the nuts as hard and often as you can. Bullies must be made to suffer.
Washington DC delenda est.