(X) John Spencer - Hamas is not an insurgency. It is the ruling power of Gaza that had complete control of a geographic area, a population, all institutions, and a vast military (40,000 fighters, 15-20k rockets, 400 miles of military tunnels, and a massive supply of small arms, mortars, crew served weapons, anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft guns, mines, and improvised explosive devices) with the stated objective to destroy Israel and all Jews of the world. Israel is not conducting a counterinsurgency or counterterrorism campaign. Israel is conducting a war to remove a regime from power and dismantle its military. To say Israel cannot "destroy Hamas" through military force, that it increases Hamas's "support" or "you can't destroy an idea" is a fallacy. This line of thinking is equal to saying you can't remove Hitler from power or destroy the Nazi military in Germany because of concern for further hardening the beliefs and sentiment of the portion of the German population who supported the Nazis. The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.
2024-06-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive