There is no consolation
for what happened, but explanations and conclusions, such as the army
will raise in its debriefing, must be had. We and the nation of Israel
suffered a serious blow, but the basic facts haven't changed -- we set
out on a battle against Hamas not on a whim and not because of some
politician's irresponsible rhetorical device, to wit, "patriotism," but
because the ongoing threat on residents of southern Israel had to stop.
This was clearly a no-choice war.
Another thing that
hasn't changed: As Operation Protective Edge edges past its second week,
Israel has definitely retained the upper hand and is steadily achieving
each and every goal it laid out beforehand, namely, maximally reducing
Hamas and other terrorist groups' terrorist and offensive capabilities
in the Gaza Strip and securing calm for southern Israel. This war won't
mark decisive battlefield victories such as in the Six-Day War or Yom
Kippur War, and that isn't because either the Israel Defense Forces'
might has been reduced or the enemy's bolstered (the opposite is true),
but because the nature of war has changed.
NATO is now talking
about "hybrid wars." According to this doctrine, the wars of the future
will be a composite of armies confronting armies, the terrorist
activities of relatively small yet destructive groups, special
operations by forces on the other side, cyber warfare and the
sophisticated use of media through social networks.
Civilian populations
had already become a significant strategic factor during World War II,
for all belligerents. But in the wars of today and tomorrow, fought
against entire populations, employing the aerial terror of missiles,
drones and the like, making a showcase of your population's victims --
unlike during previous wars, when belligerents tended to cover up
victims and enemy-inflicted damage -- whole populations have become
increasingly part and parcel of war strategy. The Protective Edge War
(perhaps it is more appropriate to call it a war than an operation) is
indeed a "hybrid" conflict, and an enervated Hamas is doing the best it
can, especially through the international media, to use its weakness and
reshape the situation on the ground from defeat to victory.
Even without Carl von
Clausewitz -- one of the forefathers of modern warfare -- saying that
"war is a mere continuation of politics by other means," clearly what
we've seen in Gaza is not just a localized battle, but a cog in the
greater war machine that a segment of the Arab world -- perhaps most of
it -- has been operating against the very existence of the State of
Israel and its deterrent efforts. At the same time, the war is also a
chapter in the free world's ongoing struggle against the Islamist
current that seeks its destruction.
Israel's public
diplomacy efforts, especially those of the Prime Minister's Office and
the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, have been unquestionably more effective
during this operation than during previous wars, but there is still room
for improvement. Care must be taken not only for those whose presence
in the media is advantageous, but also for those who'd be better shut
up. Not everything must be said on TV or radio.
Unlike the Second
Lebanon War and actually all the wars of the last few decades save the
Six-Day War, not only has Operation Protective Edge shown full
coordination between the political and military departments, but the
political steps taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the
Diplomatic-Security Cabinet -- including unilaterally accepting both
Egypt and the U.N.'s cease-fire proposals -- have powerfully ensured
crucial international support among Western nations and a portion of the
Arab world, at least as far as the current juncture. Erdogan, the evil
clown of Ankara, has of course continued to unmask his dark side at
every possible opportunity.
Hamas' breaching the
International Red Cross humanitarian cease-fire in Shujaiyya after
Israel acceded to a cry for help from Hamas -- which caused most of our
casualties -- was another story, and clearly we've reached an end to
such gestures.
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