Israel made a very stupid mistake vacating Gaza. Netanyahu has calculated over close to two decades of this that it is better for Israel to tolerate rocket attacks that generally have low casualties and occasional "operations" to "mow the lawn" of Hamas. This policy has failed. Israel needs to re-occupy Gaza and rid itself of Hamas once and for all. Gaza in an ideal world would be turned over to Egypt to administer but they won't agree. Thus Israel has no choice but to re-occupy the strip and rule it until something else can be done. The government's first responsibility is to keep it's people safe and this it has failed to do.
Excellent. A proportionate response here would be whatever it takes to avoid a repeat, and, as Paul notes, that will unavoidably involve civilian casualties. I'm reminded of the "transportation plan" in the runup to the Normandy landings. Eisenhower insisted on command of the tactical air forces in Normandy, and he insisted on using them to destroy the railroads, bridges, roads and other facilities the Germans could use to bring troops and equipment to the beachhead. Churchill objected, claiming the plan would kill 50,000 French civilians. Eisenhower questioned Churchill's numbers and implemented the plan. The plan, assisted by partisans, was a success, and resulted in "only" 10,000 French deaths. Of course the difference between deaths caused by Israeli action and deaths caused by Hamas and its Iranian sponsors is that the former are collateral while the latter are targeted. And yet, if we are to judge the future by the past, it's likely the UN and world leaders, quite possibly including the Biden administration, will focus more on Israeli need for restraint than on the need to assure that an action like this will never happen again. Jim Dueholm
Nailed it. And take Iranian soldiers hostage to insure the safety of Israeli hostages.
Israel made a very stupid mistake vacating Gaza. Netanyahu has calculated over close to two decades of this that it is better for Israel to tolerate rocket attacks that generally have low casualties and occasional "operations" to "mow the lawn" of Hamas. This policy has failed. Israel needs to re-occupy Gaza and rid itself of Hamas once and for all. Gaza in an ideal world would be turned over to Egypt to administer but they won't agree. Thus Israel has no choice but to re-occupy the strip and rule it until something else can be done. The government's first responsibility is to keep it's people safe and this it has failed to do.
Excellent. A proportionate response here would be whatever it takes to avoid a repeat, and, as Paul notes, that will unavoidably involve civilian casualties. I'm reminded of the "transportation plan" in the runup to the Normandy landings. Eisenhower insisted on command of the tactical air forces in Normandy, and he insisted on using them to destroy the railroads, bridges, roads and other facilities the Germans could use to bring troops and equipment to the beachhead. Churchill objected, claiming the plan would kill 50,000 French civilians. Eisenhower questioned Churchill's numbers and implemented the plan. The plan, assisted by partisans, was a success, and resulted in "only" 10,000 French deaths. Of course the difference between deaths caused by Israeli action and deaths caused by Hamas and its Iranian sponsors is that the former are collateral while the latter are targeted. And yet, if we are to judge the future by the past, it's likely the UN and world leaders, quite possibly including the Biden administration, will focus more on Israeli need for restraint than on the need to assure that an action like this will never happen again. Jim Dueholm