"... Promise was that I
Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver;
Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him
Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves ..."
Samson Agonistes
John Milton
I am sorry that I had to steal the title from Aldous Huxley's award winning book Eyeless in Gaza. But not that sorry, since Huxley himself stole his title from John Milton's Samson Agonistes. In any event, this article has nothing to do with Huxley or Milton. It does have to do with the Middle East once again being on the precipice of madness.
I know many of us are thinking the same thing when we see what is happening in Gaza. We have seen this movie before. However, today it is somewhat different. For the first time in twenty years, Hamas, the thugs of the neighborhood, are able to hit the financial capital of Israel, Tel Aviv, with rockets fired from the Gaza strip. Yes, the sirens are going off as I write this.
It would be wrong to say this is the start of a new offensive by Hamas. It would be wrong because the rockets have been pouring into Israel for some time now. What many do not understand is that missile attacks in Israel are not an event, but rather a continuum. It is estimated that since the first of the year until October, over 800 missiles have been fired at Israel. That does not include the current offensive which should drive the number of total missiles for this year much higher. Think of the restraint that the Israel people have. Think of how this country would react if a terror organization in Mexico fired 800 missile towards some of the boarder towns in Texas, Arizona or New Mexico. My guess is that "invasion Mexico" would have started months ago, with some very bloody results.
Israel is not a stranger to rocket attacks. During the Desert Storm, another neighborhood thug, Sadaam Hussein, shot Scud Missiles into Israel. He threatened to tip the missiles with all kinds of bad stuff, such as toxic nightmares consisting of bio and chemical agents. The United States, who was strongly allied with Israel at that time, supplied Israel with modules and training utilizing the Patriot Missile Defense System. Some missiles evaded the Patriots and got through to Israel - fortunately, none where tipped with anything other than high explosives.
Today, with the political climate much different in the United States, Israel knows it will have to go it alone on missile defense. It came up with a more advanced system than the Patriot, which is called the Iron Dome. So far, the Iron Dome has had limited success in taking out incoming missiles - however, some are still getting through. To me, taking out incoming missile is like catching a mouse when it already in the kitchen. The damage may have already been done. The old "War Horse" in me has thought for years now, that a stronger message should have been sent to Hamas. I would have considered sending a couple of F-16's streaking through downtown Ramallah every time there was a rocket attack. My guess is either the entire area would have exploded in conflict, or the rocket attacks would have stopped. I tend to think it would have been the latter.
How this will end up is anyone's guess right now. My opinion is that the enemies of Israel are emboldened as many believe the United States is not guarding the "back door". This might be a good opportunity for Syria, Iran or a host of other bad actors to join the fray. Israel has been though this before. They have taken on all comers and come out on top. Pound for pound, Israel is tiny, but packs a very mean punch. I believe it is time for the United States to once again show it is on the side of it's best friend in the Middle East. As for me and my house, we stand with Israel.
I know many of us are thinking the same thing when we see what is happening in Gaza. We have seen this movie before. However, today it is somewhat different. For the first time in twenty years, Hamas, the thugs of the neighborhood, are able to hit the financial capital of Israel, Tel Aviv, with rockets fired from the Gaza strip. Yes, the sirens are going off as I write this.
It would be wrong to say this is the start of a new offensive by Hamas. It would be wrong because the rockets have been pouring into Israel for some time now. What many do not understand is that missile attacks in Israel are not an event, but rather a continuum. It is estimated that since the first of the year until October, over 800 missiles have been fired at Israel. That does not include the current offensive which should drive the number of total missiles for this year much higher. Think of the restraint that the Israel people have. Think of how this country would react if a terror organization in Mexico fired 800 missile towards some of the boarder towns in Texas, Arizona or New Mexico. My guess is that "invasion Mexico" would have started months ago, with some very bloody results.
Israel is not a stranger to rocket attacks. During the Desert Storm, another neighborhood thug, Sadaam Hussein, shot Scud Missiles into Israel. He threatened to tip the missiles with all kinds of bad stuff, such as toxic nightmares consisting of bio and chemical agents. The United States, who was strongly allied with Israel at that time, supplied Israel with modules and training utilizing the Patriot Missile Defense System. Some missiles evaded the Patriots and got through to Israel - fortunately, none where tipped with anything other than high explosives.
Today, with the political climate much different in the United States, Israel knows it will have to go it alone on missile defense. It came up with a more advanced system than the Patriot, which is called the Iron Dome. So far, the Iron Dome has had limited success in taking out incoming missiles - however, some are still getting through. To me, taking out incoming missile is like catching a mouse when it already in the kitchen. The damage may have already been done. The old "War Horse" in me has thought for years now, that a stronger message should have been sent to Hamas. I would have considered sending a couple of F-16's streaking through downtown Ramallah every time there was a rocket attack. My guess is either the entire area would have exploded in conflict, or the rocket attacks would have stopped. I tend to think it would have been the latter.
How this will end up is anyone's guess right now. My opinion is that the enemies of Israel are emboldened as many believe the United States is not guarding the "back door". This might be a good opportunity for Syria, Iran or a host of other bad actors to join the fray. Israel has been though this before. They have taken on all comers and come out on top. Pound for pound, Israel is tiny, but packs a very mean punch. I believe it is time for the United States to once again show it is on the side of it's best friend in the Middle East. As for me and my house, we stand with Israel.
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