Proud of Being Stupid

 

It’s been a good few days for my ego. The reason is simple, I have been remembered by a troll, which means that my rantings in cyberspace are actually important to someone out there, or at least, I’m important enough for someone to need to comment on my postings.

This troll is particularly fond of my postings on the Israel-Gaza conflict. So, when I wrote my last post, the troll could not help but remind me that he or she existed and promptly did the usual of dubbing me a “Hamas Supporter” still trying to justify October 7, 2023.

 

 

As flattered as I am to have a pet troll, I’m a little disappointed by the troll’s inability to actually read anything I’ve written on the topic or to have any understanding of reality. This is the type of intelligence that makes slugs worthy of Ivy league degrees by comparison.

Here’s the personal declaration. My biggest benefactors in life have inevitably been from the Indian Subcontinent and more often than not, Muslim. My biggest moment came from working for the Saudi Government back in 2006. Yet, at the same time, I have family in the USA and many Jewish friends and family whom I love dearly.

Having people, I love on both sides of the debate, shouldn’t stop me from forming opinions based on what I see and hear. I have the good fortune of not being born an American politician and so, I don’t have to be a prisoner of delusion.

For a start, I have “never” said that Hamas were nice people. I have never said that they were justified to do what they did on October 7, 2023. I have argued that what they did goes beyond what most would call “resistance” and I have argued that Israel has every right to go after the perpetrators.

Having said that, I am not an American politician that takes dictation from Tel Aviv and I do not have to buy the idea that “Nothing justifies October 7 but October 7 justifies everything.” While it is clear that October 7 went beyond “resistance” the reaction to October 7 has gone beyond “self-defense.” If you look at the death toll of October 7 of October 2023 of approximately 1,200 people killed and compare it to the 40,000 killed as result of Israel’s assault on Gaza, you have a clear case of one side trying to out crime the other.

Now, let’s take out the “They started it” argument because it will go nowhere. Let’s look at what’s happened and what its actually achieved. If you look at things from “what has been achieved,” you’ll realise that the response and subsequent actions and reactions can only be called “stupid.” The Middle East could well burn. Big powers will be damaged and Israel itself is weaker than before.

Let’s start with the hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has gone on about how he’s bringing back the hostages. Well, if you Google “hostages rescued” you’ll notice that the figure that comes out, doesn’t exactly show a glorious success for the IDF in this regard.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hostages+rescued&sca_

 

Then there’s the fact that the IDF itself killed hostages:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/3-hostages-likely-mistakenly-killed-idf-airstrike-rcna171197

 

 Then, there’s the war objective of wiping out Hamas. How successful has that been? As mentioned earlier, some 40,000 people have been killed. Hospitals have been bombed and every day, the world gets to see images of children dying. Oxfam has effectively described this as one of the worst atrocities around:

https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/more-women-and-children-killed-gaza-israeli-military-any-other-recent-conflict

 

 The Israeli government spokespeople have argued that many Hamas fighters have been killed and they are doing everything to eliminate the group. While Hamas may not necessarily have the firepower that the IDF has and may have taken a beating, the constant bombardment of Gaza has opened up several fronts. The Houthis in Yemen and now Hezbollah in Lebanon have the joined in the fray. Iran, which has traditionally done things via proxy has also had its go in firing missiles at Israel.

Even with military help from the West, Israel will find it challenging to deal with a war on several fronts and whilst groups like Hamas may have taken a beating, the bombardment of Gaza is a gift for the recruitment drive of Hamas and many militant groups. So, the answer is no, the war is not going to achieve its aim of securing peace by wiping out Hamas and similar groups.

What makes it even sadder is that prior to October 7, 2023, Israel was gaining diplomatic recognition. The Abraham Accords saw Israel sign treaties with the UAE, Bharain, Sudan and Morocco. There was even talk about “normalization” between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the powerhouse in the Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”).:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/20/saudi-crown-prince-mbs-says-israel-normalisation-getting-closer

 

 You can argue that many of the Arab leaders don’t like Islamist Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas or Hezbollah, whom they regard as a threat and would be happy for Israel to wipe them out.

However, the assault on Gaza has raised the temperatures on the streets of every Arab nation to an extent that no leader and the Arab world can be seen to look at Israel with any form of friendliness. Take the UAE for example. They were one of the main drivers behind the Abraham Accords. Today, key figures in the UAE have to distance themselves from Israel.

https://www.wam.ae/en/article/b33kzd6-abdullah-bin-zayed-denounces-statements-israeli

 

 Yes, October 7, 2023 was a “bad” thing. But there’s no way that a reasonable person can justify the response. Even if you leave aside the fact that far more have been killed in the reprisals than on October 7 itself, the results have not left Israel stronger or safer. If anything, Mr. Netanyahu has done more to damage Israel than the extremist in Hamas, Hezbollah and so on, could ever have dreamed of.