Israel's war on Hamas

Submitted by Nachum (United States), Dec 31, 2008 at 12:17

By the limited nature of the military action by Israel, it seems clear what the goals by the Israelis are:

1.) Put a spotlight on the rockets coming from Gaza

2..) Create a defacto call for a negotiation for cease-fire by attacking

3.) Limit assaults to air strikes, but create an image of a wider conflict by massing a limited number of troops on the Gaza border; thereby limiting the possibility of ground troop deaths/injuries to almost nil

4.) Degrade known above ground stockpiles of weapons, kill all posible combatants, destroy all known routes of weapons transit tunnels.

5.) Create fear and doubt in the minds of Hamas leadership on future strikes on all leadership

6.) Withdraw from the offensive as soon as Hamas leadership agrees to stop firing rockets as part of a "negotiated settlement".

7. ) Create "facts on the ground" for a new and unknown commodity in the next American president

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".