Why Does the West Seem Incapable of Winning Wars Anymore? – Part 3

Example: The Israeli bombing of a hospital in Gaza and use of white phosphorous munitions during Operation Cast Lead in 2008

During the 2008-2009 Israeli-Gazan war there were back and forth allegations that Israel had deliberately bombed hospitals in Gaza in violation of the Geneva Convention.  Israel responded by claiming that Hamas was using these hospitals as shields.  The general consensus since then has seemed to be that elements of Hamas and their leadership did indeed use hospitals as shelter but that has not been widely reported in the West.  Another was the claim that Israeli use of White Phosphorous artillery shells is a war crime because white phosphorous is a chemical weapon, which it is not.

If the Hamas leadership did in fact use hospitals for military purposes than those hospitals lose their protected status and become legitimate targets.  Surprisingly some editorials at the time acknowledged that deterring valid targets is difficult in the middle of combat such as this piece by the NYT.  A more common news article at the time were these examples from the Telegraph, Telegraph again, BBC, Ynet, Global Research, The Guardian, CNN, and Harper’s.  All either claim that the use of white phosphorous is illegal, the IDF deliberately targeted civilians, or engaged in other prohibited activity.

The odd thing is that while such claims are pursued against Israeli forces with alacrity and perseverance, similar claims against Hamas are made and then dropped, why is that?  I think it is because these groups know that Israel will take the time and effort to defend themselves and even prosecute their own troops who commit illegal acts Hamas will not.  Because of that Israel is badgered while Hamas is not.  Hamas simply does not care what the wider world thinks of their actions as long as they can get press bemoaning the fate of the “Palestinians”, which they unfailingly do.

Now, what does all this have to do with my main point?  Simple, because Israel actually tries to do what the international community has determined is the “right thing,” they limit their own armed forces and actually make it harder for them to achieve a decision.  Israel is responsive to international pressure and part of this is that they generally pull their punch with the war half-won.  This has been the case going all the way back to the 1982 Lebanese Incursion and just about every conflict since.  Israel has stopped short of inflicting a decisive defeat on their enemies and because they do not defeat their enemies outright the conflict just simmers with occasional flare-ups.  The last war in which Israel inflicted a Clausewitzean defeat on their enemies was 1973.