Although I've been and still am an advocate of finishing off Hamas once and for all. Dr. Birnbaum in his article,” Gaza: Looking Back and to the Future," makes a valid point about Hezbollah not joining the recent fray for fear of the retribution it would cause. There is one main difference. To a certain degree Hezbollah still must account to a Lebanese government of which they now are politically attached. Another provoked Israeli punitive response to Lebanon’s infrastructure would be political suicide for them.
Hamas was democratically elected and having kicked out Fattah, have no restrictive counter balance. They can continue to attack Israel with impunity while having little fear of a backlash from their electorate that seems to support them unabashedly.
I further agree with Dr. Birnbaum that a guerilla war against terrorists that are largely comprised of civilians which meld easily into the local population is un-winnable unless fought in a Carthaginian manner. However, that's not to say Israel can't break the will of the Gazans by employing their own tactics which with the grace of Hashem, worked quite well in the past.
Other than the customary condemnations from the usual cast of characters around the world, Israel might consider a massive surprise attack on Gaza in the areas containing the tunnels. Eliminate as many fighters, weapons, and leadership as possible and then expeditiously withdraw her forces in favor of Fattah, our old but seemingly less dogmatic foe.
There is no doubt, for a myriad of geo/political reasons; Hamas must not be allowed to continue in power. A truce with these sworn killers would be analogous to the police signing a letter of understanding with organized crime. Their dismantling however should not come on their terms but on ours.
Jerrold L. Sobel
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment