Israel…A Hobson’s Choice

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t

Major Mike

Israel showed a great deal of restraint on their invasion into Gaza as a response to the intentional incursion into their territory, by terrorists, with the sole intent of taking an Israeli soldier hostage. Their response, in my opinion was restrained, but appropriate. Personally I would have been much more aggressive is flushing out Hamas as the governmental terror organization that they are.

No matter that is Israeli business.

I also think that Israel made it abundantly clear that there would be no more unequal prisoner swaps into the future. That they would cease the practice of trading hundreds of Palestinian criminals for small numbers of innocent kidnapping victims, or captured soldiers (who, by the way, don’t seem to be treated within the guidelines outlined in the much revered Geneva Convention). So it was clear, via their actions, and their subsequent proclamations, that the Israelis would not be dealing with terrorists in their effort to secure the release of the Hamas hostage.

And then Hezbollah immediately attacks Israel, kill several Israelis, and kidnaps two soldiers and attempts to hold them for ransom.

An obvious, and intentional, aggressive provocation, designed to get Israel to commit on two fronts. And to put the Israeli government on tilt…an expression used by poker players to describe that point in time where the combination of the visible cards and your betting strategy confuses the opponent to the point where he commits an unintentional error, or he simply makes a bad play he wouldn’t typically make.

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

So Israel is now on tilt, and faced with a Hobson’s choice…aggressively attack in two directions in an attempt secure the release of your illegally kidnapped citizens and soldiers, and to secure your borders; and be reviled by the left leaning press, all of the anti-Semites the world can muster, the retreat-at-all-costs UN and EU, and all of the other blind politikos in the world; OR Israel can continue to allow its citizens to be victimized by ruthless murderers and butchers day in and day out, as those terrorists slowly carry out their widely espoused plan to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

Sadly, many out there still blame Israel. Many still falsely believe that Hamas and Hezbollah will end their attacks when Israel bends to all of their demands. And many don’t comprehend that Israel is being intentionally pushed into war by these two terror organizations in order to turn the press against it.

I know what the choice of most Americans would have been fifty years ago, but I am unsure now. Would we tolerate Canada lobbing arty rounds into Detroit day in and day out, and accept it as the price of life in this country? Of course not. Then how can we not support Israel in their desire to live in peace, when the peace has been intentionally broken by two parties who knew for certain that their methodologies would not garner the results they were supposedly seeking?

Hamas and Hezbellah intentionally provoked Israel into war in an effort to turn public opinion against Israel. Not only are they responsible for the deaths they have directly caused in Israel, but they are also responsible of the death of the citizens, at Israel’s hands, in their own countries.

They knew exactly what Israel’s response would be…in fact they welcomed it. They knew that they had left Israel with only one choice, a Hobson’s choice, and we should not be condemning Israel for making it.

ADD ON: OBTW...when you attack someone, you are not entitled to the response you think you should get...you are entitled to the response that your victim gives you. Enjoy the bombs...you deserve them.