rssHamas Wants Israel to Invade
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 12:18 pm
- 14 Comments
Ha’aretz correspondents Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff think Israel, despite the apocalyptic rhetoric, is actually prepared to pull back when the Air Force exhausts its bombing targets. (They name Ehud Barak as an advocate of “caution.”) That’s because if Israel doesn’t accept a ceasefire soon, it will have no choice but to invade, which Hamas hopes it will:
The operation’s goals, as defined by the cabinet, are “creating a different long-term security situation in the south, while bolstering Israel’s deterrence.” The IDF does not interpret this to mean a complete end to the rocket fire, as it considers this impossible. Rather, its goal is to eliminate Hamas’ desire to attack Israel. The bombing campaign has so far dealt a severe blow to Hamas.
However, ground forces are already in place for the next phase. The Gazan mud will make it harder for tanks and armored personnel carriers to maneuver, and Hamas has clearly been preparing its defense for months. Thus any ground operation will entail many casualties, which is one of the government’s considerations in deciding how the operation should proceed….
But Hamas officials and analysts said Monday that the organization would actually like Israel to launch a ground operation; it hopes this would let it inflict such heavy losses on Israeli tanks and infantry that Israel would flee with its tail between its legs.
First off, to define the goal of the campaign in metaphysical terms — how do you know when Hamas’ “will” is broken? — while acknowledging that destroying Hamas’ capability to attack is unrealistic is nothing short of foolish. Second, the Ha’aretz writers note that no matter what Hamas will claim victory as long as there’s one member of Hamas left alive. How do we know that? Because Hamas saw that it worked for Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006.
And that leads to the third point. How and why was Hezbollah able to claim victory in Lebanon? Because Israel invaded with the exact same kind of all-out-war and final-battle and once-and-for-all rhetoric. When you do that, you give your enemy the means to win: his unbroken will. That’s why the rhetoric out of Israel is counterproductive — in these types of wars, it’s never just rhetoric. It’s the definition of the strategic terms.
Now, given that initial blunder, is it better for Israel to simply accept a ceasefire and accept the taunts of Hamas that Israel couldn’t defeat the people of Gaza, etc? Absolutely. Perhaps it will get a better ceasefire than the status quo ante, with reduced Hamas capabilities, and if there’s still a Hamas, there’s still a Hamas — after all, it was never realistic that Israel would actually destroy Hamas. If the Israelis really do fear that the Lebanon War diminished their deterrent capability — which is kind of chimerical; Israel is the regional superpower, and it says a lot that Hamas’s rockets are crude Qassams — then stopping now might play into the same psychodrama. But it would still be strategically better for Israel.
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14 Comments
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 10:53 am
Far more important is where our newly-elected New Mexico officials — our US Senators and Representatives — on the war crimes being committed by Israel in Gaza with our $$ billions of military aid? Who cares about deciphering what Hamas might — or might not –want? They were duly elected as the government of Gaza in 2006 via a democratic process overseen by former President Carter, Nobel Prize Winner and author of a best-selling book on the current Zionista 'target', Palestine.
Why not ask this honorable man what he thinks about the atrocity and ethnic cleansing taking place before the eyes of the world at this moment?
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 11:20 am
finish off the entire arab people .. go nuclear ,, what do arabs contribute to the world .. nothing ..no arab solidarity look @ all these arab countries they do not care about gaza only about keeping their brutal regimes ..
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 11:26 am
the arab is a bug ,SQUASH THE BUGS ,EGYPT IS A CESSPOOL ,LEBANON A GARBAGE HEAP,SYRIA A DUNG PILE,DETROIT A WASTELAND ,JORDAN A PUSS BAG , SAUDIA ARABIA A CESS POOL .. THE ARAB IS WEAK AND OF LOW IQ .. RID THE PLANET OF THESE BUGS .. GOD BLESS THE HEBREWS .. ALLAH IS A JOKE .. ISLAM IS A CARTOON RELIGION . MOHAMED IS A POTATO HEAD
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 11:32 am
Mr. Ackerman, to call this a blunder shows how little you comprehend Islamic idealogy. Hamas by their own admission will never accept Israel's right to exist. They have to take a violent approach or they will be no different than the Fatah party. The Quran expressly states to forge temporary truces with your enemies to give you time to rebuild your arms. It is a fact. Look it up. It is a quasi-religion based on the ravings of an evil murderer, theif and child rapist (again, self admitted by Muhammed). The core Islamists like Hamas and Hezbollah will never, never, never accept a political solution or a permanent peace. Israel and any country for that matter has the right and obligation to protect themselves. I don't see any commentary by you or the main stream media on the daily rocket attacks preceeding this, nor the suicide bombs INTENTIONALLY carried out against civilians, or even beheadings and stonings by the so call “religion of peace”. Check your facts and get real. Your intentions may be good, but your lack of touch with reality makes you an ally of the enemy. You and the media are being used due to your gullibility. If Islam achieves their stated goal of world domination, do you really think you'll be allowed to write critical commentary. I suspect like many libs you will be among the first thrown in jail or worse. I implore you and like minded readers to wake up.
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 11:38 am
DO WHAT IS RIGHT ALL THE FIRST BORN MALES IN ANY ARAB COUNTRY SHOULD BE SENT TO LABOR CAMPS IN RUSSIA AND ALL THE FEMALE ARABS SHOULD BE STERILIZED AND SENT TO FRANCE… THANK YOU ALLAH BABA BABABOOOIE ,BABA BOOIE
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
Israel should just keeping pounding Gaza until there are no more Hamas affiliated buildings left standing. Then it should move into Gaza with ground troops and weed out every last member of Hamas. The alternative is to accept being attacked continuously by Hamas rockets. I don't envy the position Israel is in, they have to make hard choices, but they had to start this campaign.
Mark Montgomery boboberg@nyc.rr.com
Comment posted December 30, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
POUND THE GAZA UNTIL ISRAEL IS SAFE FROM TERRORIST ACTS .. THEN POUND SYRIA AND IRAN …… IRAN AND SYRIA ARE NEXT .. TAKE DOWN THE ARAB AND REGAIN THE WORLD .. LIBERATE LEBANON AND JORDAN .. POUND SAUDIA ARABIA AND EGYPT .. POUND THE ARAB
Comment posted December 31, 2008 @ 9:50 am
Another long-term way to fight back against the Israeli terrorism toward Palestinians is to boycott, divest, and sanctions against this rogue nation. For more info on the Global Movement, go to http://www.bdsmovement.net/ for a list of Israeli products, etc. We successed against South African apartheid and we can do it again in the Middle East.
For a more in-depth analysis of the history and context of what's now going on in the 'holy lands', please check out Nobel Prize-winner President Carter's best seller on Palestine.
The Arab-hating (below) must have a similar term to anti-semitism, but I don't know it; nonetheless, it is equally ugly and ignorant — and counter-productive toward peace in the Middle East.
Thank you
Comment posted January 1, 2009 @ 8:26 am
boycott ???? are you insane ? boycott the one democracy in the entire arab region .. you are a silly low iq child of dope smokers..
Comment posted January 2, 2009 @ 7:12 am
the one democracy that continuously kill other palestinians?
Comment posted January 2, 2009 @ 7:14 am
not gonna happen.
read history arabsuk, hyperpower, overstretch + economic crisis are what brings down empires.
Comment posted January 4, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
war crimes?? are you insane?
HAMAS fires rockets at Israel then condemns Israel for fighting back!
if someone was throwing rocks into your house everyday for months, would there not be a time where you would throw at least one back?!
Comment posted January 4, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
war crimes?? are you insane?
HAMAS fires rockets at Israel then condemns Israel for fighting back!
if someone was throwing rocks into your house everyday for months, would there not be a time where you would throw at least one back?!
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