Like United States General William Westmoreland in 1967, Israel’s military wizards purport to see light at the end of the tunnel in the quest to destroy Hamas or any offshoot. But there is no light, and the tunnel has no end. The current conflict in Gaza is a continuation of struggle that began more than a century ago at least with the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
Israel has grown from a tiny acorn into a mighty oak. It is the superpower of the Middle East fortified by the United States. And power is never yielded voluntarily.
To anticipate Israel’s actions in Gaza and towards Palestinians, recall the Melian Dialogue in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. Athens is engaged in a great struggle with Sparta over empire. Athenians approach the rulers of Melos and demand that they either join Athens as a co-belligerent or pay tribute. The Melians plead for neutrality. They remind Athenians that politics is not static and that one day they may wish for neutrality in foreign wars. The Athenians retort that their empire will live forever and they will never need neutrality. The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.
Whom the Gods would destroy they first intoxicate with a feeling of omnipotence. But the species cannot and will not learn because the craving for power as self-identity and self-esteem is too powerful for philosophical emptiness.
Bruce, Israel's fight is not for power but to destroy an evil that has been lurking in its midst for years. Hamas's plans are now well known. Unfortunately, the Israelis have been whistling past the graveyard since 2005, now they have no choice but to destroy Hamas.
What is your solution, if not destruction of Hamas? A two-state solution? Ceasefire? I do understand your point regarding that there is no end in sight, and that Israel is being naive with regards to the outcome, but again what is the solution?