I think Samuel Huntington was very prescient when he proposed that with the end to the Cold War, further conflict would not be between nation states within the same civilization (European history in a nutshell) but between civilizations. The West has developed a…
I think Samuel Huntington was very prescient when he proposed that with the end to the Cold War, further conflict would not be between nation states within the same civilization (European history in a nutshell) but between civilizations. The West has developed a process of mitigating excesses of violence. This has been honed over centuries and requires mechanisms which provide wealth and opportunity to as many of its citizens as possible. At this time, this mitigation is largely within its own civilization though with the end of WW2 it spread to Eastern/Central Europe, Japan and parts of Asia as well. Sinic and Orthodox civilization propose that they are under attack from the West. In part this is true, but the "attack" is not military, it is oriented towards rules of governance. Islamic civilization also has difficulty with the West because again the "attack" stresses governance over the force of will.
HAMAS has employed very old tools of trade craft which have been well discussed in this thread. Their strategy is transparent and intended to ensure their survival. Their game is strictly zero-sum. The zero-sum game has dominated human existence since the emergence of civilization and the creation of large communities of humans. The solutions to nettlesome problems have always rested with war. The conclusion of WW2 brought about the potential for a different path. The path is being criticized as colonialism, US hegemony, and the evils of Capitalism. If the US is an empire then it is different from previous ones. The US, instead of immiserating its vassal states tends to run trade deficits with them. It enriches them.
Israel is a part of Western civilization and is under attack just as Western Civilization has been under attack. The Ukraine has, similar to Poland and parts of Eastern Europe, been looking to the West. What does it matter if the Ukraine is corrupt? Corruption exists in all civilizations, the question is one of degree. This does not mean that the Ukraine cannot realize joining the EU.
In many respects, Ukraine and Israel are part of the continuous conflict between the power elites of competing civilizations. One of the issues we face is that there are factions within the US power elite who would be more that happy to set up an autocratic and authoritarian regime here in the US. Consider it as a further embracing of one of the foundational economic models of the United States: The Plantation. This trend began with Ronald Reagan and the Southern Strategy of the GOP. It has come to full fruition with the current dysfunction of our Congress. It is a Royalist solution to the human condition. Such a solution embraces concentration of power in as few hands as possible, controlling human behavior by suppressing any criticism or descent, and the concentration of wealth based on a devaluation of labor. To maintain Western civilization, this too must be opposed. Absolutism of any stripe is equally pernicious. Its model is not dissimilar to the model followed by HAMAS.
Support of Israel remains essential. Opposing the fatuous rhetoric of the so-called Left is necessary. The West has engaged in sufficient self-criticism and is taking steps to deal with just criticism. Hopefully, Israel will not act solely alone and repeat the mistakes of the US after 9/11. The mass movement of Palestinians to the south of Gaza indicates that the control of HAMAS is less than absolute. There needs to be aid for what could evolve into a worsening humanitarian crisis. The extremists within Israel will hopefully be effectively opposed by more moderate elements. Israel will hopefully work with its allies towards the long term irrelevance of HAMAS. How so? Being demonstrating the absence of a tenable solution from HAMAS.
The destruction of HAMAS will be a long campaign. As much as anything, it needs to be discredited and shown for the pernicious force that it is. Its primary objective is continued chaos in pursuit of a goal that is unfeasible. The same applies to Hezbollah.
We have many conflations here.
Israel and Ukraine are caught in the same trap.
I think Samuel Huntington was very prescient when he proposed that with the end to the Cold War, further conflict would not be between nation states within the same civilization (European history in a nutshell) but between civilizations. The West has developed a process of mitigating excesses of violence. This has been honed over centuries and requires mechanisms which provide wealth and opportunity to as many of its citizens as possible. At this time, this mitigation is largely within its own civilization though with the end of WW2 it spread to Eastern/Central Europe, Japan and parts of Asia as well. Sinic and Orthodox civilization propose that they are under attack from the West. In part this is true, but the "attack" is not military, it is oriented towards rules of governance. Islamic civilization also has difficulty with the West because again the "attack" stresses governance over the force of will.
HAMAS has employed very old tools of trade craft which have been well discussed in this thread. Their strategy is transparent and intended to ensure their survival. Their game is strictly zero-sum. The zero-sum game has dominated human existence since the emergence of civilization and the creation of large communities of humans. The solutions to nettlesome problems have always rested with war. The conclusion of WW2 brought about the potential for a different path. The path is being criticized as colonialism, US hegemony, and the evils of Capitalism. If the US is an empire then it is different from previous ones. The US, instead of immiserating its vassal states tends to run trade deficits with them. It enriches them.
Israel is a part of Western civilization and is under attack just as Western Civilization has been under attack. The Ukraine has, similar to Poland and parts of Eastern Europe, been looking to the West. What does it matter if the Ukraine is corrupt? Corruption exists in all civilizations, the question is one of degree. This does not mean that the Ukraine cannot realize joining the EU.
In many respects, Ukraine and Israel are part of the continuous conflict between the power elites of competing civilizations. One of the issues we face is that there are factions within the US power elite who would be more that happy to set up an autocratic and authoritarian regime here in the US. Consider it as a further embracing of one of the foundational economic models of the United States: The Plantation. This trend began with Ronald Reagan and the Southern Strategy of the GOP. It has come to full fruition with the current dysfunction of our Congress. It is a Royalist solution to the human condition. Such a solution embraces concentration of power in as few hands as possible, controlling human behavior by suppressing any criticism or descent, and the concentration of wealth based on a devaluation of labor. To maintain Western civilization, this too must be opposed. Absolutism of any stripe is equally pernicious. Its model is not dissimilar to the model followed by HAMAS.
Support of Israel remains essential. Opposing the fatuous rhetoric of the so-called Left is necessary. The West has engaged in sufficient self-criticism and is taking steps to deal with just criticism. Hopefully, Israel will not act solely alone and repeat the mistakes of the US after 9/11. The mass movement of Palestinians to the south of Gaza indicates that the control of HAMAS is less than absolute. There needs to be aid for what could evolve into a worsening humanitarian crisis. The extremists within Israel will hopefully be effectively opposed by more moderate elements. Israel will hopefully work with its allies towards the long term irrelevance of HAMAS. How so? Being demonstrating the absence of a tenable solution from HAMAS.
The destruction of HAMAS will be a long campaign. As much as anything, it needs to be discredited and shown for the pernicious force that it is. Its primary objective is continued chaos in pursuit of a goal that is unfeasible. The same applies to Hezbollah.