The Left is going all in on defending Hamas and condemning Israel's military effort to prevent Hamas from slaughtering Jews again. Why do progressives believe our enemies can do no wrong?
The criterion of last resort is key to all just-war considerations. Force should be used only when all other means have failed or would be clearly ineffective. Israel sees no other way to neutralize Hamas and rescue the hostages. But it has forsworn direct negotiations out of hand, and it is not considering a peace process for Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu has dismissed Hamas’s proposed deals for the release of hostages. He has said that he does not want to negotiate with Hamas, though we know that negotiation with adversaries, however distasteful, has often proven successful.
"Often" successful. As in rarely. As in, not with "adversaries" who rape, and murder, and torture.
I've rejected that notion of insisting on the "last resort" standard in the past:
When you believe that any path, no matter how unlikely to bear fruit, keeps you from that "last" resort, then military force is practically speaking never an option.
Also, about his proportionality nonsense.
But I have a question for today. Why doesn't that "last resort" standard apply to what Hamas
started on October 7th? Or does Hamas get a pass because on a
technicality Hamas didn't wage war--organized violence for a political
purpose--but instead carried out organized slaughter and rape on a large scale? Which is
completely different, I admit. Oh who am I kidding? For our enemies, war is always justified, right?
Our enemies--like Russia in 2022 or Hamas right now or even al Qaeda in 2001--never get the "how dare you go to war when it isn't the last resort" treatment.
Professor Dorn, who penned that essay above, is (charitably) a moron who essentially defends monsters. Pray tell, what would the basis of negotiations between Israel and Hamas look like? Calculating the acceptable number of Israelis that Hamas is allowed to murder, torture, rape, and kidnap each year?
Face it, if Israel only fights when and how Dorn approves, Israel's place in history will be a footnote that reminds us when the state of Israel was destroyed by monsters who were defended by progressives. Because on October 7th, much of the world publicly and enthusiastically cheered the slaughter and rape invasion before Israel even began to fight back. What's just about that?
Hamas must be destroyed. Let's make sure this is truly the Last Hamas War.
UPDATE: Who exploits this more?
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day ceasefire to take effect Thursday, while the Palestinians release between 50 and 80 Israeli hostages, and Israel lets up to 300 prisoners, mostly women and children, out of its jails, mediators said Wednesday.
Hamas probably figures it has hostages to spare. Keep doing this--nicely spread out--and the clock runs out for Israel.
I wonder if Israel felt compelled by allies or Israelis to do this? Hopefully, Israel can use this time and debriefings to resume the offensive more effectively.
UPDATE: If al Shifa Hospital wasn't the Hamas fortress it was thought to be, it was still illegally used by Hamas as a shield to kill Israeli troops. The media dismisses the latter because of the former:
This is not healthy scepticism of ‘war propaganda’ – it’s a dogmatic refusal to accept a single thing the Jewish State says.
As I've noted all along, I doubt the extent and sophistication of the tunnels. If my skepticism is correct, that doesn't negate Hamas war crimes of using human shields.
Besides, Amnesty International and PBS verified long ago how the hospital is used by Hamas. But never mind. Nothing to see. Move along.
UPDATE: ISW released an update on the war on November 21st.
FLASH OVERRIDE UPDATE: Has Hamas terrorism come to our shores?
The FBI is investigating a vehicle explosion Wednesday at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the U.S. and Canada in what sources tell Fox News was an attempted terrorist attack.
Explosives were in the vehicle at the time and two people who were in the car are dead, the sources told Fox News. A border officer was injured.
I've been worried. But the car bomb apparently was coming from the Canada side.
Hopefully Michigan bridges and tunnel are on high alert.
UPDATE: A report that the attack was launched from the U.S. side but security foiled it.
UPDATE: More:
Canadian officials told ABC News the car did not originate on the Canadian side of the border. As investigators work to determine the car's path, it appears the incident started and ended on the U.S. side of bridge.
Surveillance video showed the vehicle stopped at an initial security checkpoint, according to sources briefed on the investigation. The vehicle was then directed to a secondary security checkpoint, and at that point the vehicle sped up and crashed into the secondary screening location, sources said.
UPDATE: I heard a report from an eye witness that there was no explosion after the very high-speed crash. An accident?
But what about report of explosives? Early erroneous reporting in the fog of war?
UPDATE: It seems like the early reports of a terror attack are starting to be walked back. Was this just a couple criminals who made a stupid effort to evade capture after a thorough vehicle search?
UPDATE: It's weirder, with video:
The deadly fireball crash at the Rainbow Bridge is now believed to have involved a local New York man and his wife who had ill-fated plans to attend a KISS concert over the border in Canada[.]
Did the driver have a medical emergency that led to pressing the accelerator to the floor? Seriously weird. But weird beats terrorism.
Still, this is so odd that I expect a thousand conspiracy theories to bloom. And the government and media will share part of the blame for ruining their own credibility.
UPDATE: Strategypage looks at the Last Hamas War and related background information.
UPDATE: I'm seeing more references to Israel controlling Gaza for a couple generations--or more. But I don't think that is sufficient. After 50 years, Israel's enemies will simply say that Gaza would have been even more glorious if not for those meddlesome Jews. You know that is true. That's why I think there needs to be a contrast at the end of those 50 years.
UPDATE: What will the next phase look like?
As it prepares for the imminent release of hostages by Hamas, the Israeli government has reiterated that the current truce is only a "short pause" after which it will resume its bombardment with "full military power".
And how much will the Israelis learn from the pause in fighting? From hostages, signals intelligence, watching where humanitarian aid goes, etc.
UPDATE: The latest ISW update on the war.
UPDATE: Hamas appears to be using the "pause" to push civilian human shields back into northeastern Gaza. Who knows how many terrorists are trying to slip in, too.
UPDATE: Could there be unintended escalation of the Last Hamas War into a regional war--or even broader?
Maybe. But neither Hezbollah nor Iran seem to want escalation. But things change.
And a broader war would really just be linking a war involving Iran (which is already an ongoing proxy and quasi-war) with its ally Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine rather than a true escalation. Real escalation would mean China starting a war. Is that likely? I doubt it.
But yeah, unlikely bad things can happen the longer Israel's campaign continues. Like I've said, tick tock, Israel.
Israel craves — even needs — America in its corner. Yet, it is well aware that existence in the Mideast depends on obliterating Hamas. It will do what it has to do even if the Jerusalem-Washington rift widens further.
Even aside from American support levels, Israel can't remain mobilized indefinitely without seriously harming their economy. Tick tock.
UPDATE: Delenda est Hamas:
A truce that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza will not be a permanent solution but merely a temporary pause in which Gazans remain controlled by a terrorist group that will abuse civilian infrastructure and resources to rebuild, rearm and return to its stated objective of destroying Israel.
That is the reality despite delusions that a ceasefire is the best path. Israel must destroy Hamas.
But an Israeli sense of urgency is needed.
NOTE: The image was made from DALL-E.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
