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"Destroying Hamas"
The Corner on National Review Online —
... ] Despite all the loose talk about it, it seems very unlikely to happen, for the reasons Max Boot outlines in his wise piece this morning. ...
Heil Hamas!
Jules Crittenden —
... : Kill, kill, kill. It’s the argument for eliminating Hamas, plus some strategizing. Over the past 5,000 years, war may not have been the perfect answer, but there have been countless times when it was the only answer. This is one of those times. Max Boot at WSJ : Yeah, but Israel’s no Russia, Algeria or Burma. This one’s fun. ...
Bleak Assessment Revisited
Vodkapundit —
Max Boot on Israel’s tragic dilemma: It can’t ignore Hamas’s attacks, not only because of the damage they inflict, but also because of the terrible precedent they set. Israel has always been a state that is one battle away from destruction, and it cannot allow its enemies to think that it can be attacked with impunity. But at the same time Israel cannot do what it takes to wipe out the enemy, because of the constraints imposed by its own public, which is far less willing than in the past to suffer or inflict bloodletting. So the Jewish state is forced to fight an unsatisfying ...
The Logic Of Quagmire
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan —
Max Boot explains: The odds are that once Israeli troops leave, Hamas will rebuild its
infrastructure, forcing the Israelis to go back in the future.
This is the definition of a quagmire, yet Israel has no choice but
to keep doing what it's doing. Unlike the French in Algeria or the
Americans in Vietnam, it cannot simply pack its bags and go home. And where on this scale would Americans in today's Iraq fall? Are we Israel in Gaza or France in Algeria? Or do we not really have as good an excuse as either? ...
In Mild Defense of the Juicebox Mafia
The American Scene —
... So, as some of the juiceboxers have argued, the real question is whether Israel’s actions make sense in light of what Israel and friends of Israel see as its core objectives: the survival of a Jewish democracy, diminution if not elimination of the terrorist threat, etc. (Max Boot wrote a really terrific op-ed in this vein.) I have no idea if Operation Cast Lead is working — like Brooks, I think that remains to be seen. But is there reason to worry that it won’t? Yep. Is my gut instinctive to support a democracy’s efforts to defend itself? Definitely. As ...
"What Happens Then?"
The American Scene —
... Hamas militarily. Israel could obliterate the Palestinian people of Gaza physically – they have that power – but (thankfully) they will not do that. Israel could absorb the people of Gaza into its body politic at the price of becoming a bi-national state or a unitary Arab-dominated state, a price I find it very hard imagining the Israelis being willing to pay. Short of either of these solutions, there is no way for Israel to impose its will on the territories; contra Max Boot, Israel does not have the ability to impose a peace at gunpoint, impeded only by ...
War: What Is It Good For?
Ross Douthat —
... These are lessons I've drawn from recent history as well, which is one reason why I'm skeptical about Israel's Gaza incursion. (Sharpening my skepticism is the fact that Max Boot, whose enthusiasm for the use of military force seems largely undiminished by the events of the last five years, is waxing skeptical as well.) Certainly, almost everything I've read suggests that ...
Let Them Eat Rockets
American Thinker —
... That Israel has taken great pains to minimize civilian casualties in the current fighting, going so far as to contact Gaza residents by phone and warn them to evacuate from targeted areas, also does not matter. Critics vilify Israel for being less than 100 percent effective in its attempts to only hit armed Hamas men. But with or without these critics, Israel is unusually sensitive about conducting wars with minimal civilian casualties, often to its detriment. As analyst Max Boot points out , this has made Israel's wars more challenging and more costly to wage. Take, for ...
