http://www.takimag.com/site/article/a_damned_foolish_thing/When I say Israel’s Gaza incursion is a “damn foolish thing,” a bad sequel to a bad original, I’m not trying to be cute or flippant. I’m certainly aware that the invasion has had a high cost in human suffering, and I remain horrified that my tax dollars are supporting it, as well as the continued occupation of the West Bank. I also recognize the political implications involved. As Justin has argued, Israel is likely trying to get Hamas—as well as the Palestinian people—on a war footing before Obama takes office, heading off at the pass a potential pro-Palestine intervention or even a substantial shift in policy by the new administration. Olmert, who’s been reduced to a caretaking role, is trying to redeem himself for the botched Lebanon campaign before he leaves office, just as the new Kadima leader, the aforementioned Tzipora Livni, seeks to prove her stuff to Israeli Right.
All the same, the invasion remains a “damned foolish thing” for the simple reason that after it’s over, nothing will be accomplished or settled; indeed, Israel’s actions—as well as the justifications for them one reads in the Western press—are indicative of the fact that the Gaza campaign is a war to nowhere.
When Israel invaded Lebanon two and half years ago, the campaign was, by all conventional measures of military matters, a resounding success. The only problem was that Israel was fighting an asymmetric war—that is, an established nation-state (think F-14 firing missiles) was taking on an amorphous, state-like social charity and terrorism organization (think screaming poor person with a grenade launcher). The funny thing about this kind of conflict is that the little guy usually wins by losing, and the big guy is usually ruined by his success. On CNN International, Israel looked like a horrible monster, and on the proverbial “Arab street,” Hezbollah got cred for standing up to the “Zionist entity.” Hamas, which at the moment is much smaller and less well organized than Hezbollah, will undoubtedly benefit greatly from losing a war to Israel and will soon be rewarded with an enlarged donor base, new recruits, and a reputation for toughness. Getting attacked by the Israelis is good for organization branding.
This kind of “asymmetry”—in which the stronger party is usually at a disadvantage—informs the broader conflict as well. Israel voluntarily surrendered Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005, and even supported elections in the territory (until you know who got the most votes.) But despite this gesture, Israel was always perceived as an imperial-colonial power, brutally lording over the Palestinians. There is, of course, good reason for this, as Israel very much is occupying formerly Palestinian land in the West Bank—and expanding its presence there—and even after giving up Gaza, it made sure that the place remained an isolated, miserable shantytown without running water. But the perception also has much to do with the fact that the conflict appears, rightly and wrongly, to be one between “European,” “white” colonizers and “brown” third-world victim people—and this kind of thing went out of style a long time ago. As Steve Sailer wrote here at Takimag a little over a year ago:
Today, most countries … are ruled by elements relatively indigenous to their continent. A clear historical pattern has emerged: European settlers either take over an entire continent politically and demographically or lose power everywhere and find themselves expelled. There is, however, one famous exception to this rule: Israel.
The fact that Israel stands against such an epochal trend helps explain the inordinate excitement and loathing Israel arouses among its neighbors, just as decolonized Africa’s political elites found the continued existence of Rhodesia and white-ruled South Africa far more upsetting than the dismaying conditions in their own countries. Israel is a reminder of the European superiority to which these non-Europeans were once subjected themselves.
The occupation status quo is not only instable and violence-producing, but it makes it impossible for Israel to gain legitimacy approval for aggressive actions among anyone other than its patrons and underlings in Washington—and no amount of yammering about Arabs having full legal rights in Israel and the like is going to change this.
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