agip wrote:
it's tricky. We invaded Afghanistan and Iraq after 911, which most people think was a mad overreaction and, like a Gaza invasion would, resulted in the deaths of innocents, ... and, well, terrorism against the US from Islamic fundamentalists did pretty much end after that. There's an argument that fighting back does work and showing strength does work to protect a nation.
Israel’s situation is very different, though. The US is bordered by Canada, Mexico, and two oceans. Israel has 5.5 million Palestinians living under military rule in the same territory as their civilians. If conditions in Gaza cause 100s of thousands to be uprooted from the homes, and 10s of thousands to be killed and injured, the rest of the Palestinians under occupation will respond with violence.
Our situation on 9/11 and the response to 9/11 was different. And we didn’t cut off water and electricity from an entire population in Afghanistan.
That was the point I was making. This isn’t going to succeed in saving hostages or in eliminating Hamas. It will make the next cycle of violence worse, just like every Israeli operation in Gaza has over the past 15 years. Repeat the same policy, get the same results.
