My wife, who is mostly non-political, asked me about the recent fighting in Hamas. She wanted to know what the people of Gaza had done to provoke Israel's response. She tends to see things in black and white. Israel's response is either right or wrong.
I tend to see things in shades of grey, and the middle east has got to be the murkiest grey around. In general, I like the phrase "nobody was wearing a white hat", and it certainly applies here.
I'm not a foreign policy expert or even very knowlegable about the middle east, but from my less than expert viewpoint, Israel's hat is darker right now. The damage and destruction they are causing is way out of proportion to the threat that Hamas imposed.
Furthermore, I think that in disputes like these, generally most terrorist threats, military action does more harm than good. It creates more terrorists than it discourages.
If Israel wants to reduce the threat of the terrorists, then it has to make terrorism look bad in the minds of the typical palestinian. Eliminate the sypathizers of terrorism, and it will gradually die out or be limited by the Palestinians themselves.
Israel need to take actions that improve the lives of the ordinary Palestinian, not impose further hardship and grief. Israel acts like an enemy of Palestinians, so it will continue to be seen that way. Their actions make the terrorists' actions more acceptable to the general population, and that makes it easier for the terrorists to operate and to recruit new terrorists.
Terrorism is a sign of despair and a lack of hope. It is the tool of those who believe there is no other option. Israel need to take actions that will give the Palestinians a reason to believe there are other options, there is hope for a better future.
General military action harms too many civilians, and creates even more sympathy for the terrorists.
This was the US mistake in the war on terrorism. It is not a typical war and should not be fought with typical war weapons. It needs a police-like response.
I hope Obama understands this and doesn't over-react in Afganistan.
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Thanks for writing about this difficult topic. I thought about it myself, but wasn't really sure what to say. The violence Israel uses is out of proportion, and it will cause more hatred then there already is. I hope the western world will condemn these acts of violence with harsh words. I'm afraid if they don't do that, the muslims will turn even more against us, which will fuel terrorism. You are right, a very grey, murky situation there.
ReplyDeleteTanja