Calls for a permanent cease fire in the Israeli-Gaza war have increased among Palestinian protesters and American progressives. Even the United Auto Workers union has gotten into the peace-making business.
At first blush, an end to killing sounds great. After all, who’s pro war?
Yet a two word question tears apart that simple solution: “And then?”
It’s a question posed by a sharp editor at National Review – Judson Berger – who used to be a sharp editor at Fox News online when I ran it. Ironically, “and then?” is the most obvious question about the war that no one asks.
As both Judson and Hamas make clear, there’s no real alternative to Israel’s war. After Hamas massacred over a thousand Israeli citizens, the fighting has been decidedly lopsided in Israel’s favor. While Hamas has had a much harder time killing armed Israeli soldiers, they’re far from surrendering.
“We will do this again and again,” pledged a Hamas official, while another called October 7 a mere “rehearsal.” Even yesterday, another claimed that Hamas is “not far off” from launching a “war of liberation”, bigger than ever. Months ago, this would have been considered mere posturing. After the largest slaughter of Israelis in its history, it’s a deadly threat.
Stopping the war now, with an enemy that remains emboldened, would leave Israel with the strategies that have so far fared poorly. They tried occupying Gaza, to no avail. They built an impressive wall and tried to keep weapons out of the region, which not only failed but led to them being painted as aggressors by much of the world.
In reality, a cease-fire would leave Israel with only two options: flee or die.
Judson closes with, “As long as Israel’s government feels the full weight of its obligation to protect its people, the reality is: There is no alternative to war with Hamas. Not one Israel could, quite literally, live with.”
Please pardon a smartass remark from me, Ken, but I have to point out that the correct wording for your closing sentence would be “smarter than I” since the following verb “am” is understood. However, as any wordsmith knows, usage trumps grammatical rules in a living language, and your word choice has the distinct ring of common use. Carry on. 😇
Hamas seeded this with Oct 7 assult & earlier prior attacks
Israel HAS TO DEFEND SELF, THE LAST OPTION IS NUCLEAR.