A Pillar Built on Sand
by JOHN MEARSHEIMER, Counterpunch, November 19, 2012
In response to a recent upsurge in tit for tat strikes between Israel
and the Palestinians in Gaza, Israel decided to ratchet up the violence
even further by assassinating Hamas’s military chief, Ahmad Jabari.
Hamas, which had been playing a minor role in these exchanges and even
appears to have been interested in working out a long-term ceasefire,
predictably responded by launching hundreds of rockets into Israel, a
few even landing near Tel Aviv. Not surprisingly, the Israelis have
threatened a wider conflict, to include a possible invasion of Gaza to
topple Hamas and eliminate the rocket threat.
There is some chance that Operation ‘Pillar of Defence’, as the Israelis are calling their current campaign, might become a full-scale war. But even if it does, it will not put an end to Israel’s troubles in Gaza. After all, Israel launched a devastating war against Hamas in the winter of 2008-9 – Operation Cast Lead – and Hamas is still in power and still firing rockets at Israel. In the summer of 2006 Israel went to war against Hizbullah in order to eliminate its missiles and weaken its political position in Lebanon. That offensive failed as well: Hizbullah has far more missiles today than it had in 2006 and its influence in Lebanon is arguably greater than it was in 2006. Pillar of Defence is likely to share a similar fate.
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There is some chance that Operation ‘Pillar of Defence’, as the Israelis are calling their current campaign, might become a full-scale war. But even if it does, it will not put an end to Israel’s troubles in Gaza. After all, Israel launched a devastating war against Hamas in the winter of 2008-9 – Operation Cast Lead – and Hamas is still in power and still firing rockets at Israel. In the summer of 2006 Israel went to war against Hizbullah in order to eliminate its missiles and weaken its political position in Lebanon. That offensive failed as well: Hizbullah has far more missiles today than it had in 2006 and its influence in Lebanon is arguably greater than it was in 2006. Pillar of Defence is likely to share a similar fate.
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