How Hamas Beat Israel in Gaza

NY TIMES ^ | 8/10/14

[SoFloFreeper]

If body-counts and destroyed weaponry are the main criteria for victory, Israel is the clear winner in the latest confrontation with Hamas. There’s no doubt that Israel could conquer the entire Gaza Strip and completely wipe out Hamas’s military apparatus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chosen not to do so and now enjoys his highest approval ratings ever.

But counting bodies is not the most important criterion in deciding who should be declared the victor. Much more important is comparing each side’s goals before the fighting and what they have achieved. Seen in this light, Hamas won.

[SoFloFreeper]

I read this article and don't get the analysis. Can someone 'splain to me, like I am a five-year old, how Hamas is winning?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Can someone 'splain to me, like I am a five-year old, how Hamas is winning?

Because the Slimes is in denial.

[MeshugeMikey]

its “settled science”...like global climate change...

[Borges]

Hamas uses dead Palestinians as international P.R. They know exactly what they’re doing.

[txrefugee]

Next, Israel should bomb the NYT for aiding and abetting its enemies. How many NY Jews sit quietly by, while this anti-semitic media blames Israel for defending itself?

[God luvs America]

yup- most of the arab world is getting fed up with Hamas but the Hamas sympathizers at the NYSlimes claims Hamas is winning- so it must be true...

[TexasCajun]

The author:

Ronen Bergman is an Israeli investigative journalist and author. He is a senior political and military analyst for Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s largest-circulation daily.

[Dr. Thorne]

Only the psychotic NY Times could spin Hams’s abject defeat as victory. They’ve learned well from their hero, Joseph Goebbels.

[Pollster1]

Antisemitic bigots are cheering for Hamas, but they were doing that before the latest violence. Decent people are cheering for Israel, but they were doing that before the latest violence. The only real changes are 70 dead Israelis, which is sad, and 1800 dead Palestinians (mostly terrorists), which is good.

[publius911]

Hamas uses dead Palestinians as international P.R. They know exactly what they’re doing.

This liberal doofus certainly has bought into the "new reality."
If the goal of Hamas was to legitimize the new war tactic of "we will force you to kill ours (NOT US) until you are forced (BY OTHERS) to surrender!"

Me?
I ain't buying it.
Europe? I'm not sure.

Clearly, the MMM Hamas believes it has.

[Borges]

Are you referring to me or the writer of this article?

[AZLiberty]

Antisemitic bigots are cheering for Hamas, but they were doing that before the latest violence. Decent people are cheering for Israel, but they were doing that before the latest violence. The only real changes are 70 dead Israelis, which is sad, and 1800 dead Palestinians (mostly terrorists), which is good.

And now Israel is united behind a leader with the courage to defend their homeland, while the Palestinians must be engaged in massive WTF. Even Turkey and Qatar must be wondering why they're supporting such a bunch of losers.

But John Kerry can continue windsurfing and riding his pink bicycle, happy knowing that the NYT has blessed his work.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

This from the New York, err, Anti-Semitic Times!

[Apparatchik]

This is wishful thinking and pure fabrication on the author's part. His first reason for the Hamas "victory" is that they dictated the duration of the conflict by refusing (and routinely violating ceasefires). That's a victory? Pretty weak tea, if you ask me. His second reason is that Hamas continued to fire rockets (indiscriminately) at Israel, but he fails to mention that 90% of the rockets were destroyed by the Iron Dome system and the vast majority of the remainder did not hit anything of importance. That's a victory? Then he explains how Hamas used its network of tunnels to ambush IDF troops and states that they killed more IDF troops than last time. But wait, didn't he specifically say that it's not about body counts?

But the biggest howler of all was this line:

It made Israel pay a heavy price and the I.D.F. eventually withdrew its ground troops from Gaza without a cease-fire.

That is a patently false statement. The truth is that Hamas has been set back several years, with at least a majority of the tunnels destroyed (a source of millions in smuggling income for Hamas to buy more weapons and pay the families of terrorist "martyrs" as well as a means to smuggle in more weapons), Egypt playing a sensible role and supporting the embargo of smuggled goods and weapons into southern Gaza, an indigenous Palestinian population that is getting tired of being made human shields (a rare recent protest against Hamas ended up with a couple dozen protesters being executed in the street by Hamas), at least half of its rockets gone from being fired and hitting nothing, and the international embarrassment of rockets being hidden in UN schools, not once, not twice, but three times that we know of. I predict that Hamas is in such dire straits that it will resort to increasingly desperate acts, which will only serve to destroy any gains it made in the sympathies of the American and European Left.

[Captain Rhino]

The author has adopted the usual Arab standard for declaring victory:

In defeat, some of them are still alive, therefore they won.

[reefdiver]

Hamas got their ass kicked, tunnels are gone, missiles were close to useless and the houses they lived in are crushed. They spent all their money and even Arabs turned on them.
Only in liberal land could you find someone who could suggest they won

[jmaroneps37]

Actually Israel won deep wide and continuous regardless of what this schmuck says. Here's why: Not only did Israel produce thousands of martyrs for Islam which is a great short term victory; Israel finally decided she didn't care what her enemies in Washington and around the whole think and waded in with her whoop ass stick. This is very bad news for the 7th century morons who only THINK they have seen the worst of what Israel can/will do when she has to defend herself. Being finally free to kick ash without worrying about what the worms at the Fuhrer Bunker on 42nd Street think is a BIG win for the long term survival of Israel.

[lacrew]

PR war. A poll last week showed that ‘young people’ were evenly split between blaming Hamas and Israel for the violence.

When these ‘young people’ start becoming a large voting block, it is possible the US will quit supporting Israel with money and weapons.

And, its almost a fait accompli that the western world will insist that Israel pay indulgences for all the Pali deaths, in the form of allowing the Gaza port to open. Which, in a world where Iran goes nuclear, is a death sentence to Israel.

[tbpiper]

If you can understand how the Obama economy is getting better, then you’ll have the logical chops to understand this.