ASIA TIMES
by Rob Geist Pinfold
October 29, 2023
US experience shows invading without a post-intervention plan leads to unwinnable quagmires with no achievable political goals
After Hamas’s deadly attacks on October 7, a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) appeared inevitable. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government apparently had little choice, given that the attack shocked Israel to its very core.
The IDF failed to prevent or plan for the attack, while the government’s hubristic view that Israel could tacitly support Hamas’s rule in Gaza, thereby dividing the Palestinians while indefinitely containing their aspirations for statehood, proved fundamentally flawed.
But nearly two-and-a-half weeks into the war, an Israel ground invasion is only starting to materialize. Instead, both sides have settled into an all-too-familiar pattern of tit-for-tat rocket and airstrike exchanges. Why, then, have Israel’s actions not matched its rhetoric?
Two intertwined factors – incorporating both Israel’s internal and external politics – explain this operational inertia.
The first is US-Israel relations. Biden administration officials initially refused to call for Israeli restraint and even backed a ground invasion. This differs from previous rounds of escalations, where US pressure was a critical factor in persuading Israel to agree to a ceasefire.
But the familiar dynamic soon returned. Biden warned Israel to respect the “laws of war” and protect Gaza’s civilians. The White House also overcame Israeli intransigence to allow aid to enter the territory. Now, since Hamas has released some hostages, the US is again pressing for time to bring more Israeli civilians home without a further escalation.
Israeli pundits are railing against a supposedly weak and gullible US for falling for Hamas’s delaying tactics. But the reality is closer to home. It is not Hamas, but internal dissent at the highest levels of Jerusalem’s political and military elite that has caused the US to temper Israel’s war plans.
Link : Here
No comments:
Post a Comment