Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission.
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on America in 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld knew exactly what to do: “go massive.” Al Qaeda’s “shock and awe” attacks were an opportunity for the Bush/Cheney administration not only to strike against “terror” but against Saddam Hussein and Iraq, possibly even Iran, even though those countries had no role in 9/11. Here’s how Rumsfeld put it:
“Hard to get good case [against Iraq]. Need to move swiftly. Near term target needs – go massive – sweep it all up, things related and not.”
Going “massive” had another benefit: it distracted Americans from the colossal failure of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld to keep America safe, to anticipate and prevent the Al Qaeda attacks. Americans rallied around the flag and asked few questions as Congress gave the president a blank check to wage a “global war on terror.”
Something similar is happening in Israel today. The Hamas terror attacks are giving Bibi Netanyahu and the hard right in Israel an opportunity to “go massive,” to “sweep it all up, things related and not.” This has the added virtue of distracting Israelis from the colossal failure of Netanyahu in anticipating and preventing the Hamas attacks. Like their American counterparts, Israelis are tending to rally around the flag as their government is given a blank check (supported by the USA) to wage a war on terror in Gaza.
Of course, a war on terror is a war of terror, which is what we’re witnessing in Gaza. Massive Israeli bombing. Deaths that will soon exceed ten thousand. Widespread hunger, thirst, and suffering. Massive displacement of Palestinians from their homes. All justified because Israel was attacked, and not just attacked but embarrassed, as America was embarrassed on 9/11.
Consider these satellite images from Gaza showing massive destruction from Israeli bombing.
Broadly speaking, the USA and Israel share a conceit of being God’s chosen people and also of having the world’s finest and best military forces. These conceits were challenged respectively by the success of the Al Qaeda and Hamas terror attacks. Embarrassment coupled with anger and revenge leads to going “massive,” irrespective of wisdom or legality (or morality). Going “massive” is also a great CYA exercise, as in covering your ass.
Now is the time, these failed leaders decide, to punish “evildoers,” innocent people be damned. What matters is violence, action, vengeance, settling scores, irrespective of human rights and the so-called rules-based international order. It’s time to kill.
If history doesn’t quite repeat itself, it surely does echo as Israel, much like the USA after 9/11, goes “massive” and kills innocents while claiming it’s all in the cause of self-defense and justice.
William J. Astore is a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF). He taught history for fifteen years at military and civilian schools. He writes at Bracing Views.
I am reading “Gaza” by Norman Finkelstein. He discusses “Protective Edge” and “Cast Lead”, previous military actions by Israel, ostensibly against Hamas, but were actually intentional, brutal actions against the Palestinian people. The purpose? To demonstrate to other that they have no compunction against murdering men, women, children, especially children, as a deterrent policy. I had to read that several times to get it. It put me into a rage.
I consider the “human life is measured by Hamas who Gazans let tamper more than usual” as sister-articles to “Unprovoked attack against competent leader Netanyahu”
not just attacked but embarrassed, as America was embarrassed on 9/11.
They’re both just playing dumb, they know exactly what they’re doing… Manufacturing consent.
Consider: Mossad, Sin Bet, U.S. bases with sophisticated listening devices, plants inside Gaza (perhaps even within Hamas), etc, how could Israel and the U.S. not know what was going to happen. Did Israel and the U.S. go along to allow the IDF (when Israel is at war, all leadership defers to the military) to stand down? There is now a second Israeli who said that Israeli military attacked its own citizens, this time with helicopter gun ships (which may explain the charred bodies), not IDF soldiers firing wildly. Netanyahu now has a coalition government, what he did not have recently. More importantly, he is out of jail. The attack on the Palestinians in Gaza (half of which are women and children) is outdoing both Cast Lead and Protective Edge in its brutality. I ask again. Did the U.S. and Israel allow this 9/11 copycat event to happen? Call me crazy.
U.S. QUIETLY EXPANDS SECRET MILITARY BASE IN ISRAEL
“ TWO MONTHS BEFORE Hamas attacked Israel, the Pentagon awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to build U.S. troop facilities for a secret base it maintains deep within Israel’s Negev desert, just 20 miles from Gaza. Code-named “Site 512,” the longstanding U.S. base is a radar facility that monitors the skies for missile attacks on Israel.
On October 7, however, when thousands of Hamas rockets were launched, Site 512 saw nothing — because it is focused on Iran, more than 700 miles away.”
https://theintercept.com/2023/10/27/secret-military-base-israel-gaza-site-512/
Did the U.S. and Israel make it happen, so attention could be focused on Iran? I heard that two carriers is not worrisome, but if a third one shows up, it would most definitely mean an attack against Iran. The U.S. and Israel have the bomb. We have used ours. Twice. Would Israel use a tactical nuke on Iran? Russia is a friendly to Iran. Would that bring Russia into the fray? The worry has been that the Ukraine action would perhaps bring about WWIII. Would attacking Iran do the trick? Joe and his idiots are playing with our lives.
Maybe they couldn’t get WWIII or Armageddon started with Ukraine now they are trying to find someway to get started.
Even if there was no attacks by Hamas Israel will make up excuses to attack Gaza as it did before.
This is their guidelines:
“ Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass”