In The Surge--Israeli Style, I wrote that what one of the key elements of the surge in Iraq, winning over the population, was lacking in Israel's war with Hizbollah in 2006--
Nor is the IDF doing that now--if the Israeli army is getting the help of any Gaza locals against Hamas, it is because they are members of Fatah. In the case of the surge, you had Iraqi citizens helping the US against insurgents who opposed the American-aided Iraqi government. In Operation Cast Lead, the Israelis themselves are the insurgents in the eyes of the Gazan population--trying to overthrow their democratically elected government.
Rich Lowry makes the same point at The Corner:
Extremist groups like Hamas can indeed be marginalized and defeated. We did it with the Mahdi army in Iraq. But we held territory, worked to win hearts and minds, and—perhaps most importantly—had an Iraqi government pulling in the same direction, which politically isolated Sadr and convinced people his nationalism was cover for thuggery and mayhem. By this standard, Israel is 0-3.
One of the big stories in this war is the active use Israel has made of the new media: blogs, Twitter, and YouTube. And Israel has been succesful in using these tools. But this has all been used in addressing the West. True, Israel has made phone calls to Gazans warning them of coming attacks. They also took over the Hamas television station. But has Israel made the same concentrated ongoing effort to present their case specifically to Gazans that they have to the rest of the world, whether through new or old media?
If they have, I have not read about it.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Operation Cast Lead.
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