The Questions That Remain After the War in Lebanon
The editors of the Jewish Daily Forward’s present some important questions in their most recent editorial, Asking the Right Question.
Israelis should not be asking why this war didn’t resemble the Six Day War. Rather, they should ask why it looked so much like America’s wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, or like Russia’s wars in Chechnya and Afghanistan, or France’s wars in Algeria and Vietnam. Why do generals insist on believing in the fantasy that guerrilla insurgencies can be wiped out by jets and tanks?And later they say:
Had Rabin not been assassinated, but rather permitted to carry out his plans, things might look very different today in the Middle East and, perhaps, beyond. Too many lives have been lost, too many homes destroyed, too much hope extinguished in the decade since he and his vision were cut down. Yet the truths remain the same. Wisdom lies, as always, in knowing when to shoot and when to talk. Now is the time to talk.
Here is the entire editorial.