SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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 evilviper on Monday July 14 2014, @01:41PM
It's been a long-time coming, that insurgent forces have an asymmetrical advantage over standing armies. That's why the US won the war of independence over Britain, that's why the US lost in Vietnam, that's why Iraq and Afghanistan were such long and drawn-out slogs. etc.
It doesn't eliminate the technological advantages, though, it just keeps them from obliterating the opponent with zero effort, as the balance of power would otherwise indicate it should. That technology is, instead, getting more and more important. It's the technology that allows soldiers under-fire to direct air-strikes at one house, without carpet-bombing/shelling an area and killing all the neighbors.
And it's not as if those at the top don't know it...
"I think you could say that there are two fundamental ways to fight the US Military: asymmetrically and stupid." -Major General Herbert Raymond McMaster (2014/05/24)
Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.