This afternoon I watched the news coverage of the release of the 13 Israeli women and children hostages by Hamas and the corresponding release of 39 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons. The BBC, CNN, Euronews: all were factual in their presentations of what occurred. But none tried to make any sense out of it. Let us do that now.
Pardon my lengthy reply to your interesting (as usual) post, but your title seems to me to be purposefully provocative. Therefore...
The truth, or not, of your title proclamation depends wholly on what war you mean, thus it’s certainly debatable. Among the various aspects of this conflict which might be considered “the war” are the information war, the actual ongoing hostilities, and what the outcome of hostilities portends for a handful of subsequent critical practical consequences. I’m not sure these can be neatly separated for analysis as they interconnect, nor statements made conclusively, as your title suggests.
What “excesses” were committed by Hamas are still being debated since reports of IDF excesses, viz the apparent, what might be labeled “indiscriminate”, killing of both Hamas combatants, Israeli citizens, as well as, their own IDF members have surfaced. “Indiscriminate” might be inappropriate since it is being suggested that the Hannibal Directive has been implemented, in which case it’s a matter of approved doctrine. As usual, the contemporary, quick analyses are likely useful in the info war, sometimes as cathartics, typically emotional, and of course, commerce driven. I do not lump your always useful commentary amongst the rabble commentariat, still, folks earn livings providing us ready explanations. Historians will write about it later, trying to unwind the “facts” dispassionately, and disagree yet.
What Hamas has won, or not, is an interesting notion. Certainly it has provoked much, but won depends on what weight you give such stuff as geopolitical shifts, or human level chaos, and what you make of the utter destruction, upheaval, ruined lives and families, deaths, ethnic cleansing, anguish, remorse, and hate, sheer psychic chaos bestowed upon the sufferers. Hamas bears some responsibility, despite whatever just cause and long suffering it has endured. Can we just file their actions away, ignoring the easily foreseeable consequences? How malleable is Ethics; shaped as convenience requires? Or perhaps what’s true is there’s no such thing as ethical when it comes to conflict resolution. We certainly can see such a grim reality that lies beyond in the Israeli IDF reply. The cascade of hateful and genocidal talk and action.
In this case, is there a “win”? Showing Israeli and American hypocrisy, and unmasking the real demons are (even as they be significant and well due) pale wins in my estimation. A hoped for two-state solution; a mirage or now it’s gotta be? On balance (is there such in this case?), seeing Hamas as a winner or a loser still leaves humanity with yet another monumentally grotesque injustice, and indecency. This seems to be Sapiens’ calling card. Certainly so when irreconcilable systems collide.
Had there been a referendum, would Gaza have said this was a good idea, or even if all agreed that it’s a really, really bad idea, it’s still the least bad way forward? The fact is people don’t get to decide. They just get to die. Conflict resolution eventually involves that dire fact. How then to sort this out as any semblance of any conceivable idea of Good, let alone imagine what any of the multiple parties to this disaster, have gained for the better? There’s no question it cannot be done. It’s purely, and simply, and completely a failure of all.
A two state solution? We shall see what comes I suppose. It doesn’t look good to me so far.
Pardon my lengthy reply to your interesting (as usual) post, but your title seems to me to be purposefully provocative. Therefore...
The truth, or not, of your title proclamation depends wholly on what war you mean, thus it’s certainly debatable. Among the various aspects of this conflict which might be considered “the war” are the information war, the actual ongoing hostilities, and what the outcome of hostilities portends for a handful of subsequent critical practical consequences. I’m not sure these can be neatly separated for analysis as they interconnect, nor statements made conclusively, as your title suggests.
What “excesses” were committed by Hamas are still being debated since reports of IDF excesses, viz the apparent, what might be labeled “indiscriminate”, killing of both Hamas combatants, Israeli citizens, as well as, their own IDF members have surfaced. “Indiscriminate” might be inappropriate since it is being suggested that the Hannibal Directive has been implemented, in which case it’s a matter of approved doctrine. As usual, the contemporary, quick analyses are likely useful in the info war, sometimes as cathartics, typically emotional, and of course, commerce driven. I do not lump your always useful commentary amongst the rabble commentariat, still, folks earn livings providing us ready explanations. Historians will write about it later, trying to unwind the “facts” dispassionately, and disagree yet.
What Hamas has won, or not, is an interesting notion. Certainly it has provoked much, but won depends on what weight you give such stuff as geopolitical shifts, or human level chaos, and what you make of the utter destruction, upheaval, ruined lives and families, deaths, ethnic cleansing, anguish, remorse, and hate, sheer psychic chaos bestowed upon the sufferers. Hamas bears some responsibility, despite whatever just cause and long suffering it has endured. Can we just file their actions away, ignoring the easily foreseeable consequences? How malleable is Ethics; shaped as convenience requires? Or perhaps what’s true is there’s no such thing as ethical when it comes to conflict resolution. We certainly can see such a grim reality that lies beyond in the Israeli IDF reply. The cascade of hateful and genocidal talk and action.
In this case, is there a “win”? Showing Israeli and American hypocrisy, and unmasking the real demons are (even as they be significant and well due) pale wins in my estimation. A hoped for two-state solution; a mirage or now it’s gotta be? On balance (is there such in this case?), seeing Hamas as a winner or a loser still leaves humanity with yet another monumentally grotesque injustice, and indecency. This seems to be Sapiens’ calling card. Certainly so when irreconcilable systems collide.
Had there been a referendum, would Gaza have said this was a good idea, or even if all agreed that it’s a really, really bad idea, it’s still the least bad way forward? The fact is people don’t get to decide. They just get to die. Conflict resolution eventually involves that dire fact. How then to sort this out as any semblance of any conceivable idea of Good, let alone imagine what any of the multiple parties to this disaster, have gained for the better? There’s no question it cannot be done. It’s purely, and simply, and completely a failure of all.
A two state solution? We shall see what comes I suppose. It doesn’t look good to me so far.