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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| How Hamas Is Winning The Rocket War | |
| 2012-11-17 | |
These latest attacks are just one indication of how, despite Israel's best efforts, Hamas's stockpile of rockets is only growing deadlier with time. In October 2009, current Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen co-authored a study at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on the 2008-2009 Israeli offensive in Gazoo: It reported that 600 rockets were fired into Israel during the 22-day war, most of which were domestically produced, short-range weapons. By comparison, the IDF reported earlier today that more than 550 rockets had struck Israel in the past three days -- and of course, the weapons managed to reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which Hamas was incapable of doing during the previous conflict. Bill Clinton, of all people, predicted this in a 2009 interview with Foreign Policy, and worried openly about what it meant for the future of a peace agreement. "[I]t's only a question of time until [these rockets] are de facto outfitted with GPS positioning systems. And when that happens and the casualty rates start to really mount, will that make it more difficult for the Paleostinians to make peace instead of less?" he worried. "Because they will be even more pressed by the radical groups saying, 'No, no, look, look, we are making eight out of 10 hits. Let's stay at this.'" Assuming the Israeli government isn't willing to let a steadily increasing proportion of its population live under the threat of rocket fire -- a fair bet -- what is its answer to this conundrum? For answers, I turned to retired Brigadier General Shlomo Brom, a former director of strategic planning in the Israel Defense Forces and currently a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, one of Israel's premier think tanks. Brom's response will provide little solace for Hamas, or the people of Gazoo. "Eventually, weapons are getting to Gazoo, and because of that I don't think the solution is to prevent Hamas from holding these kinds of weapons. It's not possible," he says. "The only solution -- which is of course is a partial solution -- is deterrence." In a nutshell, Brom's argument is that Israel can't stop Hamas from acquiring these weapons -- but it can make the costs of using them unbearably high. It's a recipe for many future confrontations just like this one. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #10 This is the same logic that allows hostess workers and supporters to proclaim "philosophically, I think the union wins". I wonder how many such victories the unions will be able to withstand. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-11-17 23:29 |
| #9 OOOOPPPSSS, forgot DEFENCE.PK/FORUM > THE ARAB SPRING REACHES JORDAN | THE ARAB SPRING HAS BEGUN IN JORDAN | THOUSANDS OF JORDANIAN PROTESTORS CALL FOR KING ABDULLAH TO GO. Reno's Command. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-11-17 23:24 |
| #8 And before HAMAS was AL-QAEDA winning the larger GWOT = ISLAMIST JIHAD agz the US. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-11-17 23:19 |
| #7 this is a form of assymmetric warfare - and for Hamas it's all about public opinion on the Arab streets plus financial backing from secret supporters. the ground war is irrelevant - they know it will stop sooner or later. for them it's a WIN just because they fought Israel. until Israel changes this dynamic - things won't get better for Jerusalem. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-11-17 23:00 |
| #6 This is a familiar story. Israel wins at arms, the bad guys win on paper. There are plenty of ways to counter the rocket threat, but the chattering class will excoriate Israel if they ever implement an effective countermeasure. For Israel, as for us in the US, the trick is to not listen to those who want you to fail. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2012-11-17 10:53 |
| #5 Go long. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2012-11-17 08:41 |
| #4 Buy time and build walls Let wood for walls be bow and spear. That enemies do them na dare. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-11-17 07:41 |
| #3 This is the same logic that allows hostess workers and supporters to proclaim “philosophically, I think the union wins”. Tough economic times mess up people's minds and lead to war. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-11-17 06:30 |
| #2 Buy time and build walls. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2012-11-17 05:55 |
| #1 And Hizbollah won 2006 war---but they've been awfully quiet (as far as Israel is concerned) since then. 4 days ago Paleosimians had hundreds of Fajr & Grad missiles---today they've a lot less. And just wait until they start accessing the infrastructure damage they've sustained. On a long run: peace with Muslims (Arabs in particular) is impossible. However, both Muslim ME and their principal anti-Israeli ally EUrope face collapse. In case of Europe it'll lead to return to nation states too busy to survive to indulge their "anti-Zionist" hobby. In case of Arabs, famine with total collapse of social organization. Right now Israel just have to buy time. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-11-17 01:23 |