I am continually surprised by those who are just now coming around to acknowledging that Hamas is evil. Yet, somehow they still feel that Israel acted inappropriately, Moreover, some tend to feel that because I am a United States Marine, I tend to feel that the use of force is the only answer. Having been in combat a few times and having seen man’s inhumanity to man up close and personal, I can tell you I do not believe the use of force or violence is always the best answer. Many times, it may not even be a good answer. I have personally captured more enemy than I have killed, and am proud of the fact that I have been able to accomplish missions while preserving life. However, I have also learned when you are in combat, you have to make time-sensitive decisions and a lack of action is what gets you, your Marines, or civilians killed. So, while many of us have the luxury of sitting back safely in a country far away from the fray, the leaders of Israel who are watching their citizens come under attack do not. They must act and they must act quickly and decisively to prevent their citizens from being killed. That is one of the main responsibilities of a government. The Israeli government could have, and many might feel should have, simply responded with overwhelming military might. They certainly have the ability to wipe out Gaza. However, they didnt. They didnt as one of my friends likes to say bomb the shit out of the people of Gaza. Instead, they used tremendous amounts of restraint. They warned the citizens via all available means, to include personally calling Palestinians on cell phones. This level of humane action and restraint is unheard of in warfare. So that you have an additional perspective into my mindset, in the Marine Corps, we train people to be decisive and to use the time allotted to make effective decisions. So, when you have the time, you take the time. However, when confronted with life threatening situations in the most volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous situations, you must immediately make decisions and take action. To be sure, those decisions will not always be correct. We do not punish our subordinates for making improper decisions (assuming they are not committing premeditated war crimes). However, we crush those who are unwilling or unable to make decisions. I recognize that those of my friends who are critical of Israels actions against Gaza are not Marines or leaders of a country. However, they are extremely intelligent and well-educated men and women who have had plenty of time to think about this situation and ponder about other possible scenarios. And yet, despite their brilliance and time, they have still not been able to embrace and communicate any option other than what the Israelis did wasnt right. I would suggest, had the leadership spent this much time wrestling with this dilemma and trying to find the perfect solution (assuming the one they chose was not), many more of their citizens would be dead. Not just from the rockets that would continually slip through the Iron Dome but from terrorists coming up from the tunnels Hamas dug under Israeli civilian communities. Some of you may eventually come up with a better solution in a few days, or a few weeks. However, I would suggest when you do, or until do, you not criticize those who had to make, literal life or death, decisions in a timely manner...and did it while attempting to minimize the civilian casualties on both sides.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 18:23:55 +0000
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