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.
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