Set on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the attack on Israel by Hamas “militants” (can’t call them terrorists) has provoked massive retaliation by the Israelis. One might even say that if Hamas and its sympathizers were expecting the usual measured and calm response, the wonderful acronym FAFO has reared its head.
While it’s anyone’s guess how this thing will eventually play out, some observations are in order…
Certain “experts” opined that there was “no way” that the vaunted Mossad could have missed the incursion. Thus, they conclude, the attackers were deliberately let in as a casus belli. Well, maybe they were, and maybe FDR knew in advance about Pearl Harbor. But, people often forget that human institutions have human frailties, and mistakes sometimes occur.
At the time of the infamous Casey Anthony case of 2008, a police officer friend explained how the cops could have initially missed finding Caylee’s body. “These guys are human and maybe sloth took over for a moment. They really didn’t want to climb around in that muck looking for a body.”
Regarding Mossad, when asked why they didn’t go after Josef Mengele, who actually killed people, in preference to glorified bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann, they replied that they were unable to carry out two high-profile operations at the same time.
As in all wars, reports of atrocities appeared almost immediately. Being a world-class cynic, I am prepared to believe the worst, while acknowledging that people also lie, and that photos can be faked. But, no one can deny that the incursion took place, and a large number of Israeli civilian casualties were taken.
Speaking of fallible institutions, the absurd foreign policy moves by the US, under the tutelage of Jake Sullivan should be called into question, along with giving Iran billions of dollars. In the linked piece on Sullivan, I especially liked the references to his work ethic. Yeah…how can he fail when he tries so hard? Remind you of the theme of an earlier piece of mine? Let’s give Jake a big participation trophy.
Then there’s the matter of weapons left behind in Afghanistan—as advocated by General Mark Milley—being used by Hamas. You might ask yourself how brain trusts such as Sullivan and Milley reach such high position. I should probably write a separate piece about that someday. Suffice to say that kissing enough ass, staying out of trouble, and not taking any chances will go a long way. Having the right pedigree also helps.
Speaking of pedigree, was anyone except the clueless mainstream news media surprised by the level of support shown to Hamas out of many of our most storied academic institutions?
Given the support of HAMAS by members of the Democrat party, not to mention the dismal Middle East policies dating back to at least Jimmy Carter, should we expect Jews to leave their historic party of choice? A small number will be red-pilled, but probably not enough to matter. Heck, FDR got a free pass after turning away the St. Louis. And, that’s not all. Check out this story regarding FDR and sycophant rabbi Stephen S. Wise.
Will the Hamas attacks cause people to reassess their positions on key issues, and reconsider who their friends are? Being a sales and marketing guy all my life, and thus a student of human nature, I would say “Sadly, no.”