This podcast covered two topics that are of intense interest to me. The war between Israel and Hamas and the “war’ between The Bulwark and The Dispatch (ok, “war” may be too strong a term, the ongoing disagreement).
First on Israel, Tim and I have been arguing about this via email for months and mostly, I think we have irritated each othe…
This podcast covered two topics that are of intense interest to me. The war between Israel and Hamas and the “war’ between The Bulwark and The Dispatch (ok, “war” may be too strong a term, the ongoing disagreement).
First on Israel, Tim and I have been arguing about this via email for months and mostly, I think we have irritated each other. While I would never vote for Trump, I too have felt exasperated by the Biden Admin “pivot” on Israel.
What is important to understand is Hamas does not have a military strategy. Hamas has a media strategy and uses the media in the West, including in the U.S., as a force multiplier. The latest numbers out of Gaza I have heard is there is more or less a 1:1 ratio civilian death to terrorist death. While any unwanted death is of course a tragedy, this is an unprecedented low number of civilians killed relative to the number of terrorists and in the most complicated urban environment every fought (at least in modern history according to urban war expert John Spencer). So, the entire conversation being had in America about the need for “frank conversations” with the Israelis about “restraining the Israelis as if the Israelis were just pissed of cowboys killing anything in sight is wrong on the facts and wrong on the broader strategy. Perhaps Netanyahu should have been developing a “Day After” plan and perhaps there is criticism that is warranted for the failure to do so. But the absence of a “Day After” plan is different than suggesting the Israelis are recklessly and indiscriminately killing Palestinians when they are not (and which Palestinians do in fact do to Israelis when given the opportunity, we should remember).
Suggesting or intimating falsely that Israel is killing civilians indiscriminately simply feeds the media narrative Hamas wants. The long-term rhetorical slide by the Biden Admin culminated with the suggestion that shipment of some offensive weapons would be halted. That only helps Hamas in their media narrative and strengthens their resolve. Any leader of Israel is going into Rafah to kill or capture the remaining fighters and leaders. To do anything else would be to hand Hamas (and Iran, China and Russia) a victory.
With respect to Never Trumpers now voting for Trump because of Israel, I would only say I don’t know how any patriotic American could ever vote for Donald Trump. Full stop. That does not mean I love the Dems. I still believe in the classical liberalism I did in 2016, so I get very Dispatchian when I hear folks at The Bulwark speak so comfortably about being in the Dem coalition. Color me unimpressed with the Dems. But I am at my most Bulwarkian when I hear folks at The Dispatch describe Joe Biden as a risk to the constitutional order in the same vein as Trump is. That is hogwash. Trump is a threat and Biden is not (neither is Kamala—though I throw up in my mouth a little bit with the thought of her as President).
I could go on, but I have probably irritated enough folks with what I have written thus far.
This podcast covered two topics that are of intense interest to me. The war between Israel and Hamas and the “war’ between The Bulwark and The Dispatch (ok, “war” may be too strong a term, the ongoing disagreement).
First on Israel, Tim and I have been arguing about this via email for months and mostly, I think we have irritated each other. While I would never vote for Trump, I too have felt exasperated by the Biden Admin “pivot” on Israel.
What is important to understand is Hamas does not have a military strategy. Hamas has a media strategy and uses the media in the West, including in the U.S., as a force multiplier. The latest numbers out of Gaza I have heard is there is more or less a 1:1 ratio civilian death to terrorist death. While any unwanted death is of course a tragedy, this is an unprecedented low number of civilians killed relative to the number of terrorists and in the most complicated urban environment every fought (at least in modern history according to urban war expert John Spencer). So, the entire conversation being had in America about the need for “frank conversations” with the Israelis about “restraining the Israelis as if the Israelis were just pissed of cowboys killing anything in sight is wrong on the facts and wrong on the broader strategy. Perhaps Netanyahu should have been developing a “Day After” plan and perhaps there is criticism that is warranted for the failure to do so. But the absence of a “Day After” plan is different than suggesting the Israelis are recklessly and indiscriminately killing Palestinians when they are not (and which Palestinians do in fact do to Israelis when given the opportunity, we should remember).
Suggesting or intimating falsely that Israel is killing civilians indiscriminately simply feeds the media narrative Hamas wants. The long-term rhetorical slide by the Biden Admin culminated with the suggestion that shipment of some offensive weapons would be halted. That only helps Hamas in their media narrative and strengthens their resolve. Any leader of Israel is going into Rafah to kill or capture the remaining fighters and leaders. To do anything else would be to hand Hamas (and Iran, China and Russia) a victory.
With respect to Never Trumpers now voting for Trump because of Israel, I would only say I don’t know how any patriotic American could ever vote for Donald Trump. Full stop. That does not mean I love the Dems. I still believe in the classical liberalism I did in 2016, so I get very Dispatchian when I hear folks at The Bulwark speak so comfortably about being in the Dem coalition. Color me unimpressed with the Dems. But I am at my most Bulwarkian when I hear folks at The Dispatch describe Joe Biden as a risk to the constitutional order in the same vein as Trump is. That is hogwash. Trump is a threat and Biden is not (neither is Kamala—though I throw up in my mouth a little bit with the thought of her as President).
I could go on, but I have probably irritated enough folks with what I have written thus far.