Quote Originally Posted by Evil_Maniac From Mars View Post
Well, what can you do when they're hiding behind civilians? Israel did the best it could with what it had.
Why not absorb the Israeli casualties without retaliation? Accept a few dozen deaths per year as part of the mortgage on that land and move forward. Eventually, even the arab street would begin to villify Hamas and others if they were killing innocents without either a) destabilizing Israel or b) drawing a response.

Really, the only other choice is an all out pogrom -- which would tear Israel apart psychologically.



Rory:

I wouldn't go so far as to say "puppet" and I disagree with your timeline for Israel's demise absent US support. That said, the US was the foremost mover for the creation of Israel back in 1947 and was strongly supportive of Israel throughout the Cold War (and you could argue that we did let them do some of the "hatchet work" in the region for us as well as test out the efficacy of some of our weapons systems). US support continues today and is significant albeit not the do/die level you suggest.