Before 1993

Submitted by Abu Nudnik (Canada), Dec 10, 2010 at 17:58

I'd say Israel went onto its back foot in 91 when it accepted American "assurances" and Patriot missiles in exchange for allowing scuds to fall into its territories from Iraq. Israel had never before allowed a foreign power to dictate its response to acts of war. Its policy was crystal clear: every attack will be met with a punishing counterattack to deter the aggressor. This paralysis and failure to respond to hostility has become a kind of illness. Israel allowed missiles to rain down upon them for years before responding in Operation Cast Lead.

If they went back to counterattacking for each and every attack, they would succeed. Not at first of course. The media is primed to notice Israeli defensive actions while ignoring the reasons for those defenses. But in less than a year the world would adjust to the return to the wise course that kept its aggressors at bay and popularity for Israel much higher than it is now. What kind of people accept rockets falling on their territory? Their inaction spelled guilt in large letters and, since they felt guilty for defending themselves so the world assumed they had something to feel guilty about.

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