The superb performance of Iron Dome, the protective system that shot down nearly every Hamas rocket threatening life or property, has major military implications for Israel and the world. Its success signals that “Star Wars” (as opponents maliciously dubbed it upon introduction in 1983) can indeed provide protection from short-range and also presumably from long-range rockets and missiles, potentially changing the future of warfare.
Pipes goes on to write about tunnels, consensus in Israel, Middle Eastern response, rising antisemitism, elite versus popular responses, dead babies, and concludes:
It’s a curious war in which Hamas celebrates Palestinian misery and Israel does its best to keep life normal for its enemy. Strange, indeed, but this is the nature of modern warfare, where op-eds often count for more than bullets. In Clausewitzian terms, war’s center of gravity has moved from the battlefield to public relations.
In all, the civilized and moral forces of Israel came off well in this faceoff with barbarism. But not well enough to forestall, for too long, yet another assault.
