NEW YORK – The American writer Thomas Friedman
expressed his strong warning about Israel's continued
ground invasion of Gaza,
fearing that it could lead to perpetual entanglement and make it responsible
for all the "ills" of the region. He emphasized that the worst
outcome, from his perspective, is that it would tarnish the reputation of the
Israeli army, which has been striving to regain the trust of its people.
اضافة اعلان
As reported by Al-Ghad Newspaper, Friedman
initially urged the Israeli political and military leadership to reflect,
citing the famous Confucius saying, "before you embark on a journey of
revenge, dig two graves—one for your enemy and one for yourself." He
pointed out that Israel's declared goal of the invasion is to retrieve its
captured soldiers and permanently destroy the infrastructure of the
IslamicResistance Movement (Hamas).
Friedman stated that his caution regarding the
invasion was not driven by any sympathy for Hamas but rather "deep concern
that Israel is acting out of blind anger" to achieve an unattainable goal:
"eradicating Hamas from the face of the earth" without a plan for
what comes next. He warned that persisting in this course of action could
result in getting stuck in the quagmire in Gaza indefinitely.
Comparing Israel's current military operation
in Gaza to the wars the United States waged in Afghanistan and Iraq after the
September 11, 2001 attacks, Friedman suggested that Israel should emulate the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by establishing a "Red Team." This
team would be comprised of intelligence personnel outside the direct military
or political chain of command, tasked with scrutinizing war plans and goals for
Gaza and subjecting them to testing with conflicting alternatives for
achievable objectives in restoring security and deterrence.
Friedman clarified that his proposal goes
beyond creating a Red Team for dealing with Hamas in Gaza, advocating for the
establishment of a "Blue Team" as well. This team would critically
assess the actions of the Red Team. According to him, Israel needs more vibrant
internal discussions because it "clearly rushed into a war with multiple
and conflicting objectives."
Facing the dilemma of shifting its ground war
from northern to southern Gaza, Friedman advised the Israeli Red Team to adopt
a "hard-line" alternative that calls on Israel to agree to a
permanent ceasefire, followed by an immediate withdrawal of all its military
forces from Gaza, provided that Hamas returns all remaining civilians and
military prisoners, and all its dead, without receiving any Palestinian
prisoners in return.
He considered this alternative a "clean
deal," stating that Israel retains the right to bring top Hamas leaders
who planned the "massacre" on October 7 to justice in the future.
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