Is the Israeli Military Really All That Good?

We have heard over the years that the Israeli military is one of the finest, best trained in all the world. Despite this, they seem to be rather incompetent when you take the results of their actions and weigh them against the claims so many make to presume their objectives. Perhaps if I list a few and the facts on the ground that showing that the Israeli military does not measure up against the claims made about them and their goals.

We are told that Israel has tasked their military to kill mostly civilians, well; at least most of the news I’ve read lately says so. When we check the actual casualties, particularly those casualties in the dead column, we find that over 75% are listed as Hamas fighters and leaders. If the Israeli military is targeting civilians as reported they are doing a really horrible job.

I have read that Israel is conducting a war of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Also reported is that Gaza is among the most heavily populated area on the planet. When figuring in the number of attacks made by the Israeli Air Force, the Israeli Navy, and the IDF tanks, artillery, and ground forces, the numbers of total dead in Gaza is pitifully low for so many attacks made with genocide as the goal. Once again, the vaunted Israeli forces seem to be falling far short of the mark in their performance towards a goal of genocide against the Gazans.

We are told that the Israeli military is using disproportional force in retaliation for the daily rocket attacks that have come out from Gaza. The number bandied around for the total number of rocket attacks since Israel withdrew all forces and settlers from Gaza in 2005 is approximately six thousand. Israel has thus far dropped far less ordinance in total numbers when compared to the total number of rocket and mortar attacks that emanated from Gaza since the pullout by Israel. When comparing total numbers since the separation in 2005, Israeli military actions have claimed fewer civilian casualties than the rocket attacks. The major difference in casualty levels has been the numbers of combatants killed. The Israeli military actions have killed far greater numbers of Hamas fighters, terrorists, leaders, and other personnel than Hamas has killed Israeli soldiers. This is not disproportional, it is called winning a war where the objective is to kill more of the enemy forces than they kill of your forces.

Maybe we need to stop the hysterical, knee jerk, slanderous accusations against the Israeli actions and weigh the actual evidence and numbers and be glad that Israel does not act like they are accused of acting. I am sure if Israel was really attempting to kill and injure as many Palestinians living in Gaza as possible we would be reading about tens of thousands killed in Gaza thus far. Fortunately, Israeli forces are some of the best trained and take great lengths to keep the number of noncombatants injured or killed to a minimum. For those who are screaming and wildly protesting the Israeli goals and methods, perhaps you should stop for a second, take a deep breath, then take a hard look at the facts. I realize that it is easier to simply protest against any defensive action made by Israel than it would be to protest the daily barrages of rockets and mortars launched by Hamas at Israeli civilians. We should be glad that Israeli forces are not guilty of the crimes they are charged with committing. If the Israelis would actually act as they are accused, even for just one day, the number of dead and injured would be horrendously high and there would be real reasons for grief and accusations.

Beyond the Cusp