Hamas attack: Geopolitical impact, global response

Sam Clemmens once wrote, “God created war so that Americans would learn geography.” I don’t know that I would have dragged God into the discussion, but I am inclined to agree. I think we can all name a few Pacific Islands that we would never have known about were it not for WWII, and I’m no exception. The study of history is inseparable from the study of geography, and history is too often defined in terms of war.

Much of the same applies to politics, and for more than a few of us in North America, our natural egocentric natures cause us to focus more on European matters than those of the rest of the world. Of that, I am also guilty. The Middle East provokes a particular disinterest because the conflicts are ancient, intractable, and in a foreign language. I should also note that my understanding of Middle Eastern geography was irreparably boggled by the maps I colored in Sunday school.

That said, I spent quite a bit of time around Jewish folks when I was younger, and I’ve had the privilege of being a fly on the wall during some heated discussions about Israel. When people who lost family members in the Holocaust talk about Israel, it’s like farmers talking about the aquifer. It’s wise to shut up and listen to the people with a personal stake in the situation.

Last weekend’s coordinated attack on Israel has caused me to reflect on some of those conversations. It was a shock to me, as it was the entire world. It was also a surprise to the governmental agencies charged with preventing such tragedies. The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel will surely be remembered as an intelligence failure rivaling Pearl Harbor and September 11. Both of those events spawned conspiracy theories, and October 7 will do the same.

For what it’s worth, I have difficulty with anyone who suggests that September 11 was an “inside job,” and although I think Roosevelt was looking for an entry into the war, I prefer not to believe that he would knowingly sacrifice 3,000 lives in that effort. People do, however, benefit from war. Great fortunes have been made from war, so it’s not unreasonable to look at such a colossal failure and wonder what might have been intentionally overlooked.

It is also rational to wonder who might benefit from the Mid-East disarray. Given recent events in Ukraine, Russia would undoubtedly benefit from seeing the Pentagon distracted, but Putin has maintained an arms-length relationship with Palestine. His government has received Hamas delegations regularly and has not (yet) classified them as a terrorist organization. On the other hand, Russia plays a role in regional negotiations and, contrary to the wishes of Hamas, continues to call for a two-state solution.

Palestine’s parent state is Iran, and Iran’s relationship with Russia is also ambiguous. You may recall that Soviet Moscow backed rival Iraq in the Iran/Iraq war. Now decades later, as Iraq rebuilds itself as a world citizen, Iran is one of the few remaining members of the super-villain club (along with North Korea, Cambodia, and China) that maintains warm relations with Russia.

Could Moscow support Iran while Iran supports Hamas? It would seem contradictory to their two-state position. Still, Iran is being very helpful with Russia’s military hardware needs in Ukraine and may have enough leverage to make Putin stay out of regional conflicts or at least look away. Besides, Putin also wants to keep us busy.

Another beneficiary of Middle-East turmoil would be China. They can’t help but enjoy watching us spend our coffers down on pointless third-world conflicts, but they also get to peek at our new defense toys, watch how we react, and measure our strength. What could be more advantageous than to see us dragged into two conflicts, 2,000 miles apart and 5,000 miles from Taiwan?

Even at that, it’s hard to believe that any head of state would want to be associated with massacre, rape, torture and kidnapping. Even despotic leaders want to be remembered favorably, but brutality at this level will not be smiled upon in history books.

The fact that Hamas is taking no measures to obscure their barbarity exposes their desire to instill fear and defines the objectives of terrorism. At this writing, the Israeli death toll from the initial attack has reached 1,200, with 2,700 wounded. That number includes 14 U.S. Citizens, and another 20 Americans are missing and presumed to have been kidnapped. It’s not the three thousand Americans killed on September 11 or even the 159 who perished on the Lusitania, but the atrocities overshadow the math.

Yes, it’s true that the Israelis are no angels, and we will hear quite a bit about collateral damage in the next few months, but the IDF and Mossad have done nothing that matches the immoral acts committed last weekend. I genuinely hope that the United States will demonstrate leadership by supporting Israel’s defeat of all organizations that promote unapologetic savagery in the name of religious dogma.