“Watching both this week’s war and the world’s predictable reaction to it, we can recall the Gaza rules. Most are reflections of our postmodern age, and completely at odds with the past protocols of war.
First is the now-familiar Middle East doctrine of proportionality. Legitimate military action is strangely defined by the relative strength of the combatants. World opinion more vehemently condemns Israel’s countermeasures, apparently because its rockets are far more accurate and deadly than previous Hamas barrages that are poorly targeted and thus not so lethal.
If America had accepted such rules in, say, World War II, then by late 1944 we, not the Axis, would have been the culpable party, since by then once-aggressive German, Italian and Japanese forces were increasingly on the defensive and far less lethal than the Allies.
Second, intent in this war no longer matters. Every Hamas unguided rocket is launched in hopes of hitting an Israeli home and killing men, women and children. Every guided Israeli air-launched missile is targeted at Hamas operatives, who deliberately work in the closest vicinity to women and children.
Killing Palestinian civilians is incidental to Israeli military operations and proves counterproductive to its objectives. Blowing up Israeli non-combatants is the aim of Hamas’ barrages: the more children, aged and women who die, the more it expects political concessions from Tel Aviv.”
http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson010509.html
Victor Davis Hanson is one of those deftly articulate commentators re world views and history. He sets forth the double standards re Israel and Hamas. It does demonstrate the craziness of world opinion and the risk that way of thinking puts us via our decision makers. Obama is going to jump into this with swiftness come February or sooner. Given his past associations with Khalidi et al, it will be extremely interesting to watch world opinion and the great actor force Israel into a corner of compromise…when there should be no compromise….Hamas should be wiped out…building by building…but that will not happen will it? Of course, mishaps of friendly fire and misguided ordinance does set Israel back, but the greater issue is Hamas…frankly I am so tired of hearing about Palestinians…where are they as citizens when Hamas is lobbing thousands of rockets into Israel. Of course, they cannot say anything…wonder why?
