Sadly, when we put our Marines on trial every time a bullet flies in the wrong direction in the midst of a fire fight, we prevent our soldiers from doing whatever little we allow them to do. Worst yet, is that these young men are tried by a Jury which has no idea what they are dealing with.

Anyone who has been in a war will tell you it is scary stuff. Bravery is not the lack of fear – that would be lunacy. Bravery is overcoming fear and doing the right thing. When bullets are flying by the millions and bombs exploding everywhere, death is omnipresent. Soldiers revert to their primal survival instinct. That is why extensive training is crucial. It injects all that knowledge deep down into the primal reflexive state. Those who do not get that do not survive long.

If it looks like a threat, you have about a tenth of a second to kill it or it may kill you. Sometimes you have an oops. But, when every oops becomes a jail sentence, soldiers get demoralized and become much less effective. We really need to change those rules.

On the other hand, some wars simply cannot be won this way. When we won WWII, Germany, Italy and Japan were still there. The people picked up the peaces of their lives and decided it was not worth it.

If (I wish I could say when) we defeat the radicals in Iraq, Iraq will still be there and the Iraqis will hopefully do what the Germans, etc did.

In other cases, the fight is an existential one. A war lost like this means a people will no longer exist. The Israeli-Palestinian war is a glaring example. Unless there is a complete genocide that kills everyone and all those connected to them, the war will have to end up at the negotiating table at sometime. Why not start there and spare the lives of many from both sides.

The principle we are talking about applies both ways. What if the Moslems decide to ignore the UN and the world community and attack Israel? Sure Israel can do a lot of damage. But, what if they are willing to sacrifice “a few cities” as Ahmadinijad stated and a few million people to do it. Would it be accepted? Would the Israelis give up on Israel and move somewhere else?

Doubtful. They will continue to fight until the last breath. If needed, they will revert to the guerrilla tactics they employed against the British be to insure their survival.

Hamas is a late comer to the fight. Past organizations have been defeated and dispersed. But, since the issue of existence remained, other organizations took their place.

And, each was more radical than the one before it.

It is scary to think that Al-Qaida is now declaring Hamas a softy. Hamas is not radical enough for their taste. They say the same about Hizbullah also. They cannot believe that they actually accept to live with other Lebanese.

Radical action begets more radical action and imagination is the only limit.

Something to consider when the conflict is about the existence of a people.

These conflicts can only end in one of two ways. Complete genocide and/or displacement to a far away land. Or, a negotiated settlement that both sides can live with.

Cadmus

“”Best line from the first video: “They have been positively identified as dead.””

Second best line; “..the political machinery was robustly behind the military operation…”. Pretty much explains it all.

I find it interesting that the break-through is attributed to co-opting one of the Tamils to provide intel.

16. whiskey:

“If say, NYC were nuked tomorrow, most Americans would support an immediate surrender. ”

I think that if NYC got nuked there would not be enough Dems left to carry the state, that would swing the balance to the Repubs. We would fight. LA, Hollywood and San Fran might secede (who would care?) but the rest of the country would stand up.

The Sri Lankans are not divided that way, as the West mostly is (this includes Israel). Most Westerners would rather millions of their fellow Westerners/nationals get nuked out of existence than fight against an enemy that seeks to nuke them.

It’s why you see Queers for Palestine, why women’s groups support Hamas, why women and gays and Blacks and Hispanics in general support Jihadists, oppose Israel’s existence wish the former success in wiping out the latter, and would celebrate another attack in the same manner they did 9/11. Their real enemy is the average White guy they’d have to share power with.

Which I think was the real message of WWI and WWII, how the average person in the West, particularly the US and Britain, mattered the most and the celebrated elites, from the Left, mattered the least.

Israel should now look to Sri Lanka to see how it is done with a different benefactor.