There is no way to end the security problem with Hamas other than going
into the Gazan tunnels and clean them out. Israeli society will not countenance the risk to the IDF that this would entail. Gaza is a not Viet Nam.

The US never controlled the borders of Viet Nam. In principle Israel does control the borders of Gaza.

Hamas has no safe place to run, if Israel decides to wipe them out. The Viet Cong had safe haven in North Viet Nam. Totally different situation.

The US was willing to spend the lives of 56,000 troops in a very non ideal
military situation. Israeli Society does not want to spend 56 lives to end Hamas which they could.

Hands are tied because we play by the rules.We do not condone indiscriminately bombing as do Hamas- we do not target civilians.Hamas knows this.Maybe since the world condones us for doing right we should take a page out of Syria's,Russia's book and the next time hit them with all we've got.Since we are damned anyway .The only thing Arabs know is strength.Why we continue to supply aid and open borders???Let Egypt open their border- you can't continue to bite the hand that feeds you!

They will come out on their knees begging. Then we can help them emigrate

A military solution exists. The 'leaders' don't want to pay the price. No problem as long as the trendy N. Tel Aviv coffee shops remain calm. Send the citizens in the south to the shelters. Enjoy your coffee.

It was the media that facilitated the current status quo, by beating the drums for the Gaza disengagement in 2005, even going super easy on the "etrog" Sharon during his corruption investigation until he completed the disengagement.

Now the media pundits and apparatchiks have a new "strategy" to placate Hamas as a reward for terrorism:
"We need a long-term cease fire agreement that would include building houses and infrastructure in Gaza."
...while an entire generation of Israeli kids in the Gaza border region grow up in bomb shelters.

300 AD had similar arguments as Oded why not to win over Hun raiders causing havoc in Northern China,
LIke Netanyahu ,their solution was to send trains of food and goodies to Mongolia in order to buy respite.
Like Oded they claimed "no way to win" and like Israeli Wise Man of the Left "better to plough 10 acres of field than to win 10 Wars"
Like Netanyahu they ignored the plight of inhabitants of Border Regions ,constantly harassed by bowmen from Mongolia,like Sderot is harassed by Gazans.
Encouraged Huns conquered China and ruled her for 300 years before literally dissolving into Chinese masses..
Huns were maybe a million strong and China was 300 million. In 3d century AD.
When the new census was hold in 600D,after Huns overthrow, China's population had shrinked to 60 million .Slaughter and hunger diminished Chinese population fivefold in 300 centuries.
Israel can't count on dissolving Hamas by sheer numbers after being defeated.
Israel will be no more.
Don't listen to the sweet song of peaceniks thinking they invent America, their song has been disastrously tried before,
,Haniyeh and Sinwar must and can´be killed,Hams can and must be whittled down-or Israel's gone.

The writer claims that Israel should have coordinated with the PA on its withdrawal. Need I remind the fellow that Arafat was coordinating with Hamas in carrying out the bombings of Israelis!

Oded, if that is the situation in Gaza, should Israel create a similar reality in the West Bank by allowing a terror state to form there? Also, when people ( ie the world) talk about proportionality , why can't Israel launch 1000's of indiscriminate rockets into Gaza when Hamas does the same into Israel.... There’s nothing more proportional than this.

Root canal, extirpation and sometimes apicoectomy. Take down the root of the cause; Henia, Sinwar et Al and the surrounding decay. You will end up with some healthy tissue starving for oxygen

How is hamas still able to smuggle weapons through Egypt? I understand Mursi was letting them do that , but it’s been years since Mursi was in power. I don’t get how Hamas is still able to smuggle the long range missiles through Egypt (from Iran). Perhaps Israel can try recontrolling the border between Egypt and Gaza. Basically sandwich hamas.

Israel can win. No ground op is necessary. No need to fight hamas war. From the air Israel can break down Gaza completely. Israel can build thousands of cheap rockets of their own. And, Israel can cut any or all supplies into Gaza. Israel can quietly support the Gaza population that want to rid itself of hamas. No, hamas is not invincible. Nor can peace be made with it.

The author obviously does not live on our Southern Border - where day-to-day life has become hell. It will soon be that in Tel Aviv if we don't send the IDF in. The analogy with Viet Nam is bs. If the American leadership had not caved to the spoiled students and had shown more of a national will the Communists would not have won and American Foreign Policy would not have resulted in the Iran of today. We should learn from history and our history teaches us that if we fight for our country to win we will be victorious. To believe otherwise is to put your head in the sand.

won.And Israel cant?
I dont say they should also be so brutal,but use the same tactic.

Also Philipinne tactic was usefull.Put the dead bodys of Hamas in a PigSkin.
Muslims always say terrorists are no Muslims,so i think they had also no problem with it.

The article is a crock of defeatist leftist rubbish. Shalom's advice to build houses for our mortal "Palestinian" is utter lunacy. No other nation, in human history, has ever build houses for it's enemy. Why must Israel suffer these leftist lunatics?

Israel has many ways of winning in Gaza. In fact, the only way Israel could lose is if we let our enemies choose the rules. One of the cardinal rules of war is to always choose the battle field. Among the ways Israel could win are:

1. Use airpower to demolish all "Palestinian" military infrastructure.
2. Retake Gaza forever and rebuild our thriving Jewish communities there.
3. Impose a boycott on Gaza "Palestinians" till they surrender....

Fallacious "reasoning"

First geography
Vietnam is 15 times bigger than Israel, while Gaza is 1000 times smaller than Vietnam.
Vietnam is covered by a lush vegetation, when not plain jungle, while Gaza , just go and have a look
Vietnam had borders long thousands of km with China, Laos and Cambodia through which passed from trains full of weapons to jungle tracks or roads of the Ho Chi Min "path", while Hamas had tunnels

Second military
Vietnam had the backing of the "progressive" dictatorships that provided from Mig to Sam systems to whole tank divisions, while Hamas is smuggling


Third economy
Vietnam didn't depend from the USA for food, light, water, while Hamas depends on Israel and Egypt for all of this

Fourth level of threat
Vietnam wasn't a threat for the US homeland, it never send missiles over Los Angeles, while Hamas is sending them over Tel Aviv
And THAT makes a difference

The journalist try to leverage on "jungle and embedded in population" draw a parallel
There is no jungle and the population is more and more pissed off of Hamas and there is all the clans related to the ousted PLO who have some accounts to settle with the islamists while the south vietnamese didn't

Further element is the perception of the hamasniks themselves who, during Olmert's operation, shaved their beard because they knew that the Army could wipe them out in the next days or week.

Yes, the Israel can win, counting also on a "out of the limelight" egyptian support of some sort (let's not forget that Hamas and Brotherhood are the same snake), the "green light" to some sort of PLO clans support, a good amount of bakshih from the saudis eager to counter Tehran's influence, and of course the Army intervention.

It won't be costless, but every time the cost is higher thanks to the lack of determination in facing the political risks that such a war would entail

In the end it sounds as a justification for Bibi's and Olmert pusillanimous behaviour

Yes, Hamas can be toppled