Mideastweb: Middle East
Middle East news peacewatch top stories books documents culture dialog history Maps donations

PeaceWatch/Viewpoints
 July  24, 2002

 Ariel Sharon is overstaying his welcome in office

I was sickened when I heard about the IDF's assassination of a leading  terrorist in Gaza, not because of his death, but because of the many others killed in the process.   Worse yet was Ariel Sharon's crowing over this "success."  Worst of all was his rote expression of regret at the deaths of so many innocent bystanders, including so many children.  He's letting us all know exactly how little he cares.

Back in April, Israeli leaders emphasized how the IDF refrained from using massive airstrikes in Jenin, employing light infantry instead to avoid another Grozny, even at the cost of Israel soldiers' lives.  What happened to that kind of thinking?  I'm now more reminded of America's own self-satisfied warleaders, who insist that civilian casualties in Afghanistan aren't out of line with the historical record of air power, as if that were an appropriate standard.

Much has been lost, and nothing has been gained.  The attack was probably not as counterproductive as some would have it; we should be skeptical about any possibility that Hamas would have ceased its operations more than temporarily.  Also, the special motivation that Hamas now has to strike back hard at Israeli civilians is a short-term phenomenon, so this attack is unlikely to do much to increase acts of terrorism over the long run.  At the same time, it won't do anything to decrease them, either.

After all, what was the value of killing this one killer?  The same strategy, employed earlier in the West Bank, failed to slow the pace of deadly assaults on Israeli civilians, while the IDF's record since has shown that there are feasible, indeed superior, alternatives.  The choice of arms compounds the problem.  Even with the most careful targeting, employing a tactical air asset against a small target in a densely populated civilian area is a formula for overkill.

The problem does not stop with what aerial bombardment does to the Palestinians, but also includes what it does to the Israelis.  Much depends on the crucial measure of decency to which any nation in war ought to cling as if its very future depends on it.  All wars are fought for some end; Israelis do not fight in the hopes of prevailing only to become callous killers, habituated to scattering the limbs of children in the name of national values.

The deaths of 15 bystanders are a disgrace for the Prime Minister, a black mark against the new Chief of Staff, and a black eye for Israel.  Israelis, of course, didn't have much choice.  They didn't elect Sharon so much as they unelected Barak.  Sharon's mandate was to defend the nation, but now they're saddled also with his obsessions and his chauvinistic political agenda. Perhaps he'll recognize that he's overplayed his hand -- the recent departure of the Deputy Defense Minister should have been a pretty good clue, too -- but I'm not holding my breath.


Copyright

Copyright 2002, by the author and MidEastWeb

This article and all original materials at MidEastWeb are copyright. Please tell your friends about MidEastWeb. Please forward these materials in e-mails to friends and link to this URL. Reproduction in any other form - by permission of the author only. Please do not copy materials from this Web site to your Web site.

 Back to MewZine

Subscribe to the PeaceWatch/Viewpoints 
Subscribe to the MEW e-dialog list           
Subscribe to MEWNews News Service      
Contact MidEast Web

Tell a Friend - If you like what you see, tell a friend (or two or three..) about MidEast Web. You can do more than that. MidEast Web is being built by all of us. We need your help.

Using the Web for Good Causes - Web Site tips

  

This Magazines Supporting Middle East Peace Process site owned by MidEast Web.
[ Previous 5 Sites | Previous | Next | Next 5 Sites | Random Site | List Sites ]

Middle East Gateway