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Vengeance is mine, saith the lord. Good advice since humans generally make a mess in its pursuit. The world was universally with us, and our national cohesion and spirit were never higher, after 9/11. But we frittered away our moral capital and wasted precious blood and treasure by pursuing foolish ends in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives later, can anyone say that we or the world is better off?
There are barely words to describe Hamas’ butchery, and the desire of revenge and justice among Israelis is justifiably at a boil. The world was immediately united in sympathy, but already, as the toll and misery climb in Gaza that sympathy is already passing. Does a massacre justify further massacre? A wise foreign policy right now would capitalize on world opinion and Palestinian needs to isolate and render Hamas impotent and irrelevant. Instead, a potential genocide in Gaza would strengthen Hamas and eliminate any moderates there, while Israel will expend resources and precious lives in a fool’s errand of revenge.
The U.S. is uniquely situated both to protect and support a desperately vulnerable population in Gaza while giving Israel the moderating advice it needs. That can only happen if public opinion is clear, and that means us.
Steve Bien
Jay