The Day of the Jackal…and the Jeckles
August 16, 2006
The next battle has begun. As soon as the firing stopped on Monday, the war of words and recrimination commenced. The airwaves and newspapers are filled to overflowing with commentators analyzing the war and laying blame for its failure to achieve all of Israel’s goals. From the right, from the left and from the center the soldiers of sophistry are on the march!
Do you remember the film “The Day of the Jackal?” A hired assassin stalks General Charles de Gaul at the behest of ex-officers of the aborted Foreign Legion because they blamed him for weakness and capitulation to France’s enemies. How about the old Terrytoons series staring the bickering magpies Heckle and Jeckle? They would just delight sitting back, watching the world and throwing their verbal brickbats at all and sundry—a running commentary on just about everything, offered from the safety of their perch.
These two cinematic images provide an appropriate metaphor for the rumbling and grumbling of the political pundits who have been busy since the beginning of Monday’s cease-fire affixing blame for what is generally assessed to have been a military fiasco. Like the assassin in “The Day of the Jackal” there are those who want to eliminate the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert as the person most responsible for the less than satisfactory results of our war against Hezbollah. The pack of “get-Olmert” critics (in the press led by Caroline Glick, the resident harpy of the Jerusalem Post) is putting out the call to bring down Olmert’s government and replace it with a right-wing coalition. Still smarting from their loss in the polls, there are those on the right using the perceived failure of the recent military enterprise to further their partisan political goals.
Not to be outdone, there are many Heckles and Jeckles on the left who sling their brickbats by calling for commissions of inquiry, again to find the satisfaction of an address to lay blame—but, in their case, the blame is for entering into the hostilities in the first place. Among the magpies is the former leader of Meretz (the party for which I voted in the last election), Yossi Sarid, who wrote in today’s Ha’Aretz: “Ehud Olmert's artificial reign has ended, as has Amir Peretz' unripe leadership. Not one minister acted properly, not a single general stood out, and there is scarcely an analyst among the biased commentators who did not burn his fingers and toe the line.” Sarid wonders where the left has been since the beginning of the war?
And even those who lay blame are not themselves immune from criticism. In an article in today’s Jerusalem Post economist Jonathan Lipow lays much of the blame for Israel’s botches on the battlefield at the feet of those in charge of Israel’s economy. He assails both Benjamin Netanyahu as the former Minister of the Treasury (who wasted no time following the Security Council call for a cease-fire to raise his voice against Olmert’s running of the war) and Bank of Israel chief Stanley Fischer for cuts made to the IDF budget that led to cut backs in training and readiness. Even those without a political ax to grind are quick to focus blame.
With Jackals on the right and Jeckles on the left there is seemingly no end to the war of words and finger pointing following the war of rockets and tanks. But, it is precisely this raucous chorus of criticism that is part of Israel’s strength. We live in a democracy in which criticism of the ruling powers is considered an inalienable right. In our democracy there will be official inquiries to investigate our shortcomings and assess our tactics and policies. That exercise in democracy is a sign of strength so long as it results in meaningful self-criticism and change. If it results only in assigning blame to individuals and political purges, then it can be a sign of our continuing malaise. Our open democracy is a two-edged sword, indeed.
And yet, it is our free and open democracy that sets us apart from our enemies. If one takes an objective look at the War Between the Straits, the military math clearly indicates that Israel emerged victorious—though only partially. Not all of Israel’s objectives were achieved by military means. Our hostages continue to be held in the hands of the terrorists and it remains to be seen if the Lebanese government has the will or the means to disarm Hezbollah. But our military forces were successful in significantly diminishing Hezbollah’s military capabilities and as much as half of its fighting force was eliminated. So, why is Hezbollah claiming victory?
Hezbollah’s ballyhooing of its military success in defeating the once-invincible IDF is not mere propaganda (though it must be admitted that it is very effective in that regard); Hezbollah’s claim of victory in the face of significant—maybe even debilitating—military losses is systemic to a totalitarian regime. There will be no official inquiries or moralizing about Hezbollah’s actions. Dissenters know what fate awaits them should they raise their voices to express opposition to Nasrallah or to criticize the military adventurism by Hezbollah that wrought such destruction upon the Lebanese. So, the terrorists will lay low for a while and lick their wounds, but will they realize how much they lost in this latest of continuing battles? Not likely, not likely at all.
A tragic result of our enemies’ inability to engage in self-criticism and open debate of their actions is that the Arab masses (and much of the world if truth be told) really believes that Hezbollah was victorious and that the War Between the Straits was the first skirmish in the war of Israel’s annihilation. And who will suffer? Everyone. Israel will not go away. We have the means and the determination to defend ourselves at all costs. Our enemies’ misread this past war when they call us weak. Unlike any war since 1948, the home front was tried and tested and—by all accounts—we did not succumb to the rockets and the katyushas raining down on our cities and towns. Our brave citizenry displayed heroism equal to our soldiers on the front lines. How can such a people be defeated?
The answer is that we can defeat ourselves. Instead of assigning blame to individuals or making of this war a political football to be kicked back-and-forth, this is a time for all Israelis to share collective responsibility—to assess our weaknesses and correct them. Precisely now we need to draw upon the strengths of our democracy to insure that our shortcomings in this war are corrected. As our politicians of all stripes have noted, we are engaged in a war for our very survival. There may be a cease-fire in effect but no truce, no peace accord. Inevitably—so it seems—we will be called to arms again. I pray that those arms are not bound by our own failings and lack of united determination to prevail. We dare not allow narrow self-interest or self-serving political posturing to jeopardize our democracy—this, too, is a battle that must be won.
Shalom from Jerusalem
Do you remember the film “The Day of the Jackal?” A hired assassin stalks General Charles de Gaul at the behest of ex-officers of the aborted Foreign Legion because they blamed him for weakness and capitulation to France’s enemies. How about the old Terrytoons series staring the bickering magpies Heckle and Jeckle? They would just delight sitting back, watching the world and throwing their verbal brickbats at all and sundry—a running commentary on just about everything, offered from the safety of their perch.
These two cinematic images provide an appropriate metaphor for the rumbling and grumbling of the political pundits who have been busy since the beginning of Monday’s cease-fire affixing blame for what is generally assessed to have been a military fiasco. Like the assassin in “The Day of the Jackal” there are those who want to eliminate the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert as the person most responsible for the less than satisfactory results of our war against Hezbollah. The pack of “get-Olmert” critics (in the press led by Caroline Glick, the resident harpy of the Jerusalem Post) is putting out the call to bring down Olmert’s government and replace it with a right-wing coalition. Still smarting from their loss in the polls, there are those on the right using the perceived failure of the recent military enterprise to further their partisan political goals.
Not to be outdone, there are many Heckles and Jeckles on the left who sling their brickbats by calling for commissions of inquiry, again to find the satisfaction of an address to lay blame—but, in their case, the blame is for entering into the hostilities in the first place. Among the magpies is the former leader of Meretz (the party for which I voted in the last election), Yossi Sarid, who wrote in today’s Ha’Aretz: “Ehud Olmert's artificial reign has ended, as has Amir Peretz' unripe leadership. Not one minister acted properly, not a single general stood out, and there is scarcely an analyst among the biased commentators who did not burn his fingers and toe the line.” Sarid wonders where the left has been since the beginning of the war?
And even those who lay blame are not themselves immune from criticism. In an article in today’s Jerusalem Post economist Jonathan Lipow lays much of the blame for Israel’s botches on the battlefield at the feet of those in charge of Israel’s economy. He assails both Benjamin Netanyahu as the former Minister of the Treasury (who wasted no time following the Security Council call for a cease-fire to raise his voice against Olmert’s running of the war) and Bank of Israel chief Stanley Fischer for cuts made to the IDF budget that led to cut backs in training and readiness. Even those without a political ax to grind are quick to focus blame.
With Jackals on the right and Jeckles on the left there is seemingly no end to the war of words and finger pointing following the war of rockets and tanks. But, it is precisely this raucous chorus of criticism that is part of Israel’s strength. We live in a democracy in which criticism of the ruling powers is considered an inalienable right. In our democracy there will be official inquiries to investigate our shortcomings and assess our tactics and policies. That exercise in democracy is a sign of strength so long as it results in meaningful self-criticism and change. If it results only in assigning blame to individuals and political purges, then it can be a sign of our continuing malaise. Our open democracy is a two-edged sword, indeed.
And yet, it is our free and open democracy that sets us apart from our enemies. If one takes an objective look at the War Between the Straits, the military math clearly indicates that Israel emerged victorious—though only partially. Not all of Israel’s objectives were achieved by military means. Our hostages continue to be held in the hands of the terrorists and it remains to be seen if the Lebanese government has the will or the means to disarm Hezbollah. But our military forces were successful in significantly diminishing Hezbollah’s military capabilities and as much as half of its fighting force was eliminated. So, why is Hezbollah claiming victory?
Hezbollah’s ballyhooing of its military success in defeating the once-invincible IDF is not mere propaganda (though it must be admitted that it is very effective in that regard); Hezbollah’s claim of victory in the face of significant—maybe even debilitating—military losses is systemic to a totalitarian regime. There will be no official inquiries or moralizing about Hezbollah’s actions. Dissenters know what fate awaits them should they raise their voices to express opposition to Nasrallah or to criticize the military adventurism by Hezbollah that wrought such destruction upon the Lebanese. So, the terrorists will lay low for a while and lick their wounds, but will they realize how much they lost in this latest of continuing battles? Not likely, not likely at all.
A tragic result of our enemies’ inability to engage in self-criticism and open debate of their actions is that the Arab masses (and much of the world if truth be told) really believes that Hezbollah was victorious and that the War Between the Straits was the first skirmish in the war of Israel’s annihilation. And who will suffer? Everyone. Israel will not go away. We have the means and the determination to defend ourselves at all costs. Our enemies’ misread this past war when they call us weak. Unlike any war since 1948, the home front was tried and tested and—by all accounts—we did not succumb to the rockets and the katyushas raining down on our cities and towns. Our brave citizenry displayed heroism equal to our soldiers on the front lines. How can such a people be defeated?
The answer is that we can defeat ourselves. Instead of assigning blame to individuals or making of this war a political football to be kicked back-and-forth, this is a time for all Israelis to share collective responsibility—to assess our weaknesses and correct them. Precisely now we need to draw upon the strengths of our democracy to insure that our shortcomings in this war are corrected. As our politicians of all stripes have noted, we are engaged in a war for our very survival. There may be a cease-fire in effect but no truce, no peace accord. Inevitably—so it seems—we will be called to arms again. I pray that those arms are not bound by our own failings and lack of united determination to prevail. We dare not allow narrow self-interest or self-serving political posturing to jeopardize our democracy—this, too, is a battle that must be won.
Shalom from Jerusalem
posted by RSJD at 2:51 PM
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