After the Attack: A Veteran’s Reflections on War, Survival, and Futility
The devastation rang through my friends, family, neighbors, and national security channels. We were all confused; how did this even happen? Why target the peaceful people of the Kibbutzim that border Gaza? How can human beings treat each other with such terror, disgust, and contempt?
As the days unfolded, I saw how quickly the Jewish and Israeli communities came together to care for each other. Phone calls flooded at all hours, moving survivors to safety. Israeli citizens around the world couldn’t ignore the pain. Instead, they ran toward it – offering comfort, providing sustenance, joining the military effort, and standing with their friends and families in Israel.
I recently visited one of the Kibbutzim that was attacked. Those residents only wanted to live peacefully with their neighbors on the other side of the fence. How could their neighbors do this to them?
Then the Israeli strikes on Hamas began. Of course, we knew they would come. We knew Israeli fighter jets would demolish buildings where Hamas resided, worked, planned, and stored supplies. Naturally, the IDF would wage full-scale war on its tactical threat, Hamas. But, the war would not stay confined to Gaza; it would spread to Lebanon, Syria, and anywhere Israeli intelligence could track down and kill their attackers and suppliers.
As an American military veteran who has been on combat missions to targeting terrorists, I understand why Israel acted as it did. But then, the stories of civilian deaths began to flood in. How many children were in that building? How could Hamas continue to use noncombatants as human shields? Terrorists don’t play by international humanitarian laws, so neither does Israel. One side is fighting for its survival as a nation; the other is fighting to reclaim what it perceives to be Palestinian territory.
This fighting is futile. Tens of thousands of deaths throughout the region will only fuel more hate and more tension. Iran will keep stoking the fire, keeping Israel on its toes. The international community watches feeling only sadness and contempt for military actions on both sides.
This is nothing new to the world. Humans have fought over territory, religion, power, money, without a sideways glance. Unfortunately, human nature seems to require some amount of tension and power struggle. Dr. Seuss captures this dynamic perfectly in “The Butter Battle Book.” Ultimately, the two sides are fighting over which side they butter their bread on, and they both possess the “ultimate weapon” to destroy the other side. “Who’s going to drop it? Will you…? Or will he…” “Be patient,” said Grandpa. “We’ll see. We will see…”
