Gaza and unlearned lessons from history
Reading the news from Israel is terribly upsetting. It is upsetting because I feel for the parents and families of the soldiers who fell in battle, the soldiers who were wounded and possibly permanently maimed. I also feel sorry for the victims in Gaza, but the priorities of my sympathy are with the Israeli victims. These also included the people who have to live with frequent air raid sirens, the children who are terrified, the mothers who can't shelter their children from anxiety. But I am also worried about the lessons from history that had not been learned. Israel got bogged down in a war in Lebanon that they could not win and which didn't achieve its aims, only strengthened, not destroyed the PLO. The Americans were defeated in Vietnam, despite vastly superior arms by a highly motivated and well marshalled peasant army. The Americans also got involved in a war in Iraq which only destroyed Iraq as a functioning state at a cost of thousands of American lives. They are still bogged down in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan. Similarly the Russians fought unwinnable wars at great cost in lives in Chechen, in Afghanistan. Perhaps bombing rocket sites and tunnels is a sound military objective, but it is not a satisfactory end game and a long term resolution of the underlying issues. For the last seven years the Israeli policy was not to talk to Hamas, not to negotiate with the enemy. Yet if you want a peaceful resolution you can only talk to your enemy and negotiate with them. You have to learn to understand them. They may not be the nicest people, but not talking to them only fuels bitterness. I, of course don't know if Hamas is prepared to talk to Israelis. I don't know whether there is any possible common ground for negotiation. But a policy of not talking to you is not helpful. The war between Hamas and Israel flared up in 2009, 2012, and yet again in 2014. This must not be repeated in another two years.
Dad, this situation is different from Vietnam or Afghanistan as the enemy is geographically adjacent to Israeli civilians - During the Vietnam War, American children didn't sleep in bomb shelters (as mine did again last night).
ReplyDeleteIsrael occupied Gaza for over 40 years, and although there was violence and even rocket attacks, it was a tiny fraction of what we have witnessed since the withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.
Israel must reoccupy Gaza, not indefinitely, but long enough to completely destroy Hamas and their military capabilities, and until the Hamas government is replaced with a different government that will cooperate with Israel. The alternative government could be moderate Palestinians, who would be supported from Israel, or Egyptian, or maybe the UN or NATO - but it has to be done in such a way that there is no opportunity for Hams or other terrorist organizations to rearm.
The process will take years, not days or weeks - but Israel is experienced in occupying Gaza for decades, and should be prepared to do it again if necessary, for however long it takes to keep our kids safe.
A truce, or even better, a peace treaty would be wonderful. I don't think there is a single person in Israel (or any Jew anywhere in the world) who would not love to have peace in Israel.
ReplyDeleteBut do you honestly think it is possible to sit around the table and negotiate for peace with Hamas? Here is a clip in Arabic (with subtitles) of Mushir Al Masri, a Hamas member of parliament and prominent spokesperson.
http://youtu.be/rwRpNPnR_Ec
He says that the desire for a 10 year ceasefire is just a dream of the Zionist enemy. Any truce negotiated by Hamas is just in order to rearm with better weapons and technology. He states openly that Hamas will not rest until all Zionists are removed from the entirec country.
Remember, there is not a single Jew or Israeli living in Gaza. They have had their own 'country' (though for obvious reasons, Israel has tried to limit the number of missiles and bunker-constructing materials that they could bring in). They have been self-sufficient (though dependent on Israel for electricty and water, which they have never paid for).
Sure, peace is a great thing. But it is impossible to talk, negotiate or make peace with people who openly state that they are only doing so in order to kill in the future.
And if you don't believe them when they say this, then how can you trust them in any negotiations? Either they tell the truth, in which case their goal is the destruction of Israel. Or they lie, in which case you can not trust them.
War is horrible. An unwinnable war is even worse. But a 'peace' treaty which means Israel sits and waits until Hamas is ready to kill every single Jew is not an acceptable alternative.