Written by by Rafael Medoff at lidblog.com
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a retired general, says Israel is “driving” Gazans “into the arms of the enemy.” A few weeks ago, another general, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Charles Q. Brown, charged that Israel’s anti-terror actions in Gaza are turning the average person there into “someone who now wants to be the next member of Hamas.”
Generals deserve our deepest respect for their service and sacrifice. But that doesn’t mean they are always right. General George Patton used Nazi Party members in the postwar U.S. administration in Germany, resulting in his dismissal. General Douglas MacArthur was fired for defying President Harry Truman’s orders in the Korean War. General Curtis LeMay wanted to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam.
When it comes to understanding what causes young Palestinian Arabs to become Hamas terrorists, President Biden’s generals are getting it all wrong.
It is not Israel that drove Gazans into the arms of Hamas or turned young Gazans into terrorists. It is the Gazans themselves who long ago chose Hamas as their leaders. Democratic elections were held there in 2006, and Hamas was allowed to participate at the insistence of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Hamas won 76 out of the 132 seats in parliament.