By Uri Avnery
Palestine Chronicle
".....Was the real aim of the war to stop the Qassams?.....
What were the real aims of those who started the war? I believe that they were as follows, in order of decreasing priority:
1. To overthrow the regime in Gaza, by turning the life of the inhabitants into such hell that they would rise up against Hamas.
2. To return to the Government and the army their self respect, which had been severely damaged in Lebanon War II.
3. To restore the deterrent power of the Israeli army.
4. To stop the Qassams.
5. To free the captive soldier, Gilad Shalit.
Let’s examine the results, one by one......
Almost all our spokesmen and journalists, from the President down to the last TV talk-show host, keep parroting that the Goldstone report is “one-sided”, “vile” and “lying”. But people around the world know that it is as honest a report as could be expected after our government’s decision to boycott the investigation. The damage increases from day to day. Some of it is irreversible.
It is impossible to measure the results of the war without laying this fact on the scales. The upshot is that the damage done to us by the war outweighs any benefits.
Some people in our leadership silently accept this conclusion. But there is no lack of voices – both in the leadership and in the street – which talk openly about a “Cast Lead 2” as being just a matter of time.
A saying attributed to Bismarck goes: Fools learn from their own experience, clever people learn from the experience of others. Where does that leave us?"
Palestine Chronicle
".....Was the real aim of the war to stop the Qassams?.....
What were the real aims of those who started the war? I believe that they were as follows, in order of decreasing priority:
1. To overthrow the regime in Gaza, by turning the life of the inhabitants into such hell that they would rise up against Hamas.
2. To return to the Government and the army their self respect, which had been severely damaged in Lebanon War II.
3. To restore the deterrent power of the Israeli army.
4. To stop the Qassams.
5. To free the captive soldier, Gilad Shalit.
Let’s examine the results, one by one......
Almost all our spokesmen and journalists, from the President down to the last TV talk-show host, keep parroting that the Goldstone report is “one-sided”, “vile” and “lying”. But people around the world know that it is as honest a report as could be expected after our government’s decision to boycott the investigation. The damage increases from day to day. Some of it is irreversible.
It is impossible to measure the results of the war without laying this fact on the scales. The upshot is that the damage done to us by the war outweighs any benefits.
Some people in our leadership silently accept this conclusion. But there is no lack of voices – both in the leadership and in the street – which talk openly about a “Cast Lead 2” as being just a matter of time.
A saying attributed to Bismarck goes: Fools learn from their own experience, clever people learn from the experience of others. Where does that leave us?"
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