At the end of the war, the extensive civilian casualties and destruction of residential areas came to light; it became clear that Operation Protective Edge would prove to be one of the most devastating and controversial campaigns carried out by the IDF in recent years. All in all, over 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, were killed and of the Palestinian fatalities, 551 were children and 299 were women. The war left 11,231 Palestinians injured and more than 1,500 children orphaned. On the Israeli side, six civilians and 67 soldiers were killed (). Although Israel did not suffer as much in terms of damage and casualties, it suffered a different way; the war prompted an evidently bitter response from the international community and …show more content…
The strongest criticism came from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who described the act as “unjustifiable” and accused the IDF of attacking the school, despite knowing that it is a shelter. He states, "I want to make it clear that the exact location of this elementary school has been communicated to the Israeli military authorities 17 times, as recently as last night, just a few hours before this attack” (Sengupta). Additionally, there was an unprecedented amount of condemnation of Israel from public figures such as Robert De Niro, Mark Ruffalo, Penelope Cruz, and Rihanna to sanctions by foreign governments against Israel. Many Latin American countries, such as Brazil, Chile, and Bolivia recalled their envoys from Israel and suspended Free Trade Agreement talks indefinitely and even Great Britain threatened to suspend arms sales to Israel (Spangler …show more content…
Therefore, had Netanyahu not jumped to put the responsibility on Hamas before the investigation was completed, the war could have been prevented. In an attempt to repair its image and to justify its actions, Israel was forced to play defense for the following months. Attempts were made by Israeli officials to draw comparisons between Hamas and other terrorist organizations such as ISIS. For example, Israel's minister of the economy, Naftali Bennett states, "For the free world to win, we need to start by realizing one simple thing, no matter what the name of the organization, the enemy is the same. It might be called Hezbollah in Lebanon, ISIS in Iraq, and Hamas in the Gaza strip. All have the same goal-to attack the western democratic way of life wherever it might be" (Salaita 14). Netanyahu used this same line of argument in front of an UN general assembly in September. He rebuked leaders who condemned Operation Protective Edge and argued that these people “evidently don’t understand that ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree” (Rodgers
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was incredibly eager to strike back at the nations thought to be responsible for this horrific tragedy. These attacks were quickly attributed to the terrorist group al-Qa’ida, led by Osama bin Laden, and to the Taliban-run government of Afghanistan, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’ida. In response, Washington approved a covert plan led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to directly attack those responsible in their Middle East safe haven. Initiated on 26 September 2001 with the approval of the warlords of the Afghan Northern Alliance, with whom the CIA had formed an intelligence liaison relationship, Operation Jawbreaker resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime, the killing and capture of a significant amount of al-Qa’ida leadership, and elimination of a terrorist safe haven by early December 2001. Moreover, the Taliban’s collapse denied al-Qa’ida a pseudo-nation-state partner, serving to reduce the organization’s sanctuary to areas residing along the Pakistani border. Operation Jawbreaker, one of the first post-9/11 covert operations carried out by the United States in support of its national security interests, had proved successful. Word of the operation’s swift success astounded those back in Washington; dubbed the CIA’s “finest hour,” it signified the first of many victories by deposing the Taliban’s control of Northern Afghanistan.
Introduction Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. This operation would test our military’s readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. The primary mission was to kill/capture Taliban/Al Qaeda forces occupying towns and villages in the vicinity of Shahi Khot in order to gain control of the valley.1 The US needed the towns, villages, mountains, and more importantly, the intricate and hard to access caves cleared of enemy fighters. Units participating in the operation included elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and Coalition forces from seven nations including Afghanistan.2 With so many different nations fighting along with our own branches of military, it would test our ability to conduct joint operations on multiple levels. History On September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.”
There was no good outcome for the Jews. It either died or was put into labor. Facts and figures show the massive number of Jews killed. The killings would even be bigger if the time span was to increase.
The United States launched an operation known as Operation Desert Shield, also known as the Persian Gulf War, in August of 1990 in response to Saddam Hussein’s order to the Iraqi forces to take over Kuwait. President George Herbert Walker Bush made the decision to send American troops to Saudi Arabia to form an international coalition that would eventually turn into an operation known as Operation Desert Storm. The United States Army had not witnessed an event of such international and Homefront importation since the Cold War.
Jews: The Undermined Soldiers. 1.1 million Jewish children were killed by Nazis. ”Haaretz”. In the late 1930s, the Holocaust had just begun to form. The Holocaust was the genocide of the Jewish community, all provoked by one person.
Bob Hawke once said; “Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.” Perhaps Hawke put into a few simple words one of the most complicated issues within our world today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Israel continues to strip the Palestinians of their land and fears it’s very existence because of the Palestinians terrorist acts, there seems to be no solution in sight. The world appears to be split and all over the place when it comes to this matter. According to The Middle East Institute for Understanding approximately 129 countries recognize Palestine as a state while many others do not. Over all the political matters within this issue not only affect Palestine and Israel but the world as a whole, as the Middle East and the West seem to disagree. This has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on many political affairs all over the world particularly in the current fight against terrorism. Personally I feel that the Israeli Palestinian conflict while being a very complicated matter has a simple solution. Within this issue I am a firm believer that the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces is extremely unjust and must come to an end. Once this is achieved a two state solution will be the most effective way to bring peace to the area. The occupation of the West Bank violates political and legal rights, human rights, and illegally forces Palestinians who have lived in the area for hundreds of years from their land. This conflict is at the height of its importance and a solution is of dire need as nuclear issues arise in the Middle East due to the tension between Israel and it’s surrounding neighbors, and the...
On March 18, 2003, Coalition forces would launch the initial attacks on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. A full invasion of the country followed, and Hussein was overthrown from power. While the end of Hussein’s oppressive reign was considered a victory for many of the Iraqi people, the Sunnis of the Ba’ath Party refused to accept his demise. Although the Sunnis were in the minority, the city of Fallujah would remain home to many of the Ba’ath Party supporters. On March 31, 2004, almost a year to date from the end of Hussein’s reign, four American Blackwater contactors working in Fallujah were attacked, brutally beaten, burned and dismembered by a group of Iraqi insurgents. Two of the bodies were hung from a bridge for all of the citizens of Fallujah to see, and a mob style celebration took place in the city. The highly publicized incident would be the igniter for the First Battle of Fallujah, known as Operation Vigilant Resolve. On May 1, 2004, the battle would end with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the city and control being turned over to the newly formed Fallujah Brigade. The mission as a whole was a failure, and the shortcomings of Operation Vigilant Resolve were ultimately a demonstration of the underestimation of the power, size, efficiency, organization and control that the Insurgent Forces had in Iraq as well as the lack of a consistent strategic plan from the American forces.
...untries’ shared values, providing years of unparalleled military and diplomatic support. But now those ties are being tested. The Arab Spring, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, failed peace talks, and Israel’s own decision to give Washington the cold shoulder have put new strains on the 65-year-old alliance. Without solving the Occupation, Israel will continue being a failed state. Societal chaos in Palestine can be directly attributed to a conflict in which Israel is at least an equal partner. Accordingly, the U.S. should treat the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a serious menace to America’s safety and move forcefully to end it. As a Civil Affairs team deploying to Israel and trying to meet Department of State, Department of Defense, and USAID’s objectives for the country we should put in place project and programs to help ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
“I've never seen a President -- I don't care who he is -- stand up to them [the Israelis]. It just boggles the mind. They always get what they want. The Israelis know what is going on all the time. I got to the point where I wasn't writing any¬thing down. If the American people understood what a grip those people have got on our government, they would rise up in arms. Our citizens certainly don't have any idea what goes on.”
The United States of America has participated in over seven wars, and currently participating in three ongoing wars. Many of these wars have been fought overseas, one of the most widely protested wars, was that of the Vietnam war. During the Vietnam War, the United States military decided to not only fight from the ground but also in the clouds. With the Presidents command the United States Air Force created bombing campaigns over Southeast Asia hoping that it would help with defeating the guerilla fighters and cutting off supplies from those aiding them in the North. From what was the start and first appearance of the war for the United States, to those who made the decision, to the operations, and what they wanted to do to help in ending
It is estimated that there were more than 13 million combatant fatalities.
In mid-November of last year amidst rising tensions in the Middle East, Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing the military commander, Ahmed Al-Jabari of Hamas in an air strike. This strike on a car carrying the commander stemmed the beginning to what is known by the Israeli’s as operation “Pillar of Defense”. Following this “surgical” assassination, the Israeli air force struck over 20 underground rocket launch sites belonging to Hamas (governing terrorist organization in Gaza) and the Islamic Jihad. According to Palestinian sources these strikes killed an additional six Palestinians.
“What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security didn’t depend upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter an enemy attack?”
After the Six Day War Israel security forces were attempting to cultivate and expand islamism. In between the years 1967 and 1987 the number of mosques in Gaza went from 200 to 600. While islamism was expanding at this time so were the other smaller nationalist terrorist groups, such as the PLO, were also expanding in the streets, and in schools. Hamas was founded in 1978, during the expansion of islamism and terrorist nationalist groups, by Ahmed Yassin as a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The real terrorist acts from this group started happening around the 1990’s ...
Since its inception in 1948, Israel’s position in the international system has been precarious due to its geopolitically vulnerable position. Located in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, Israel is surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors begrudged by the fact that Israel’s territorial boarders were carved out of their own countries. These neighboring states have actively sought the destruction and dismemberment of the new Jewish nation since it received its statehood. In the subsequent two decades, Israel was harassed by the surrounding countries; there were numerous skirmishes, terrorist attacks, and bombardments perpetrated with the goal of provoking Israel into a conflict. Israel got the message that war was inevitable. In June, 1967