Acknowledging the seemingly insoluble problem of the Middle East wars, now in a Gaza-Israel incarnation, few believe there are solutions to interminable conflict. The history is one of ‘begats’. After all, it’s ‘Biblical’, right?
The War in Israel Is Spreading Far Beyond the Middle East
The Gaza War, a Gaza Strategy: What Comes Next
Israel’s recent turn to a far-right coalition, including Kahanism-Kach forces, had produced months of unprecedented protests against the new government. This is now in the past. The people of Israel, faced with crisis as Hamas-militant-terrorist organizations attacked, have shifted to defense and offense. The Israeli resolve is evident. Solutions less so.
The suddenness and brutality of the Hamas surprise attack have put security assurances of the Netanyahu government in the spotlight even as polls in the country indicate wide opposition to Bibi Netanyahu. Loud assurances of support by the United States have been given to Israel — and now the tactics of war in Gaza are coming into view.
The cycle of war, the costs of war, already generational in the Mid-East and Near-East, are now being fed by new billions of spending, hatreds, battles across the region — support for the war(s), demonstrations, protests against the war(s), and raging conflicts in cyberspace, across social media platforms in every nation.
The ongoing wars and conflicts that have spread from the Mid-East region have gone far into North Africa and central and southern African countries now at war, with Russian mercenary forces deployed and Chinese Belt and Road Initiatives entwined across the continent presented as alternatives to U.S. and former colonial powers. Civil wars are in the news reporting governments recently overthrown. The events are part of a larger picture that augers a shifting world and fast-changing world order.
The conflict in Israel has flared far beyond Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Sinai, Jordan and Egypt. Responding to attacks by militias on U.S. forces remaining after profoundly costly wars in Iraq, Syria, a series of failed war with far-reaching consequences, the U.S. State Department and its representative are now sending warning missives to the Biden administration — the global South, the BRIC nations, a large part of the world’s population and fast increasing percentage of the world’s economy, are not supporting U.S. policies. There will be consequences. There will be blowback.
At Strategic Demands we have often referred to the “deep costs of war”. StraDem has spoken of a Calculus of War and, in strategic opposition, a Physics of Peace. Time to again ask about “what comes next.” Let’s look to one U.S. Congressman’s call today as one potential path to limit blowback, limit cycles of revenge, find solutions with humanity to limit death and destruction.
Steps toward solutions could be the order of the day.
Read the Letter from the U.S. Congressman from Maryland —
Statement of Congressman Jamie Raskin
November 17, 2023
Washington, DC – Today Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement calling for the immediate release of the 239 hostages captured by Hamas, an end to the violence in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and a forward-looking strategy to ensure peace and security for all people in the region.
“Now is the time for American strategic, diplomatic and political leadership to press for a breakthrough change in the relentless and dangerous dynamics of war and violence. The world has seen enough death and destruction.
“We must work with Israel and all our democratic allies, as well as the United Nations, to end the horrific carnage of this war that began on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s vicious terrorist attack. We must establish the framework for a just and durable peace and the democratic reconstruction of the region.
“The multilateral negotiations taking place right now under the auspices of Qatar should be a first step towards a forward-looking strategy providing hope for peace, justice, and the end of terrorism. In order to succeed, the world must accomplish these basic components:
The immediate release of all 239 hostages being unlawfully held by Hamas (and other terrorist groups).
The immediate cessation of hostilities against any civilian targets in order to save the lives of endangered women, children, infants and other noncombatants.
A mutually agreed-upon bilateral humanitarian pause or mutually agreed-upon ceasefire to provide for a “global humanitarian surge” of aid to hundreds of thousands of displaced and suffering innocent civilians throughout Gaza.
The removal of Hamas from operational control of Gaza and the initiation of multilateral negotiations, which include the Palestinian Authority, to arrive at the long sought-after but much-derailed two-state solution, focused on the creation of a democratic sovereign Palestinian state and the reinforcement of the security of a democratic Israel, both with safe and permanent borders. This should be accompanied by the initiation of indictments and prosecutions of the planners and perpetrators of the terrorist violence of October 7.
A Marshall Plan-style global reconstruction effort channeling the energies and resources of the world not into violence and war but into peace, social and municipal rebuilding of devastated areas in Gaza and Israel, and a renewed investment in education, health, social welfare and the rule of law to nourish the growth of democracy in the Middle East.
“We live in a time of extraordinary challenge and difficulty. The world needs a lot more hope and vision to break the cycles of violence and hatred that have cost thousands of lives just this month.
“It is natural for all of us to feel helpless before the magnitude of all this violence and suffering. But we must not despair. We must instead do whatever we can to stand by the rule of law and to work together for peace and security for all.”
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Permalink: https://raskin.house.gov/2023/11/statement-of-congressman-jamie-raskin-november-17-2023
