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Last update - 20:14 04/01/2009 On the pilot's mind By Giora Rom Tags: israel, israel news, hamas  Pilots drop bombs. Pilots kill people. Pilots destroy things that took great effort to build. Pilots do all of this without seeing the results of their actions up close. Pilots also carry out strategic goals. With their unique expertise, they serve as intermediaries between the policy determined by leaders and those targeted by that policy. Pilots would be happy to fly missions in the Sahara Desert, or in the ice tracts of Antarctica. But not Gideon Levy's pilots, citizens of his imagined country, operating in an area where more than 10 million people are cramped between the sea and the Jordan River - conflicted, angry, worried for their children's future, each with his hands firmly around his neighbor's throat. Advertisement In his December 31 article "Our pilots did not return safely," Levy sounds like someone zooming in on a snippet of a large, complex painting that needs to be viewed from afar to get the full picture. "In four days they killed 375 people," he writes. "They did not, and could not, distinguish between a Hamas official and his children, between a traffic cop and a Qassam launching squad, between a weapons cache and a health clinic. "Our excellent pilots are effectively bullies now," he concludes. The truth is that pilots are no more heroes than the tens of thousands of citizens far below them on the ground, nor do they see themselves any differently. If Levy finds it hard to figure out "what goes through their mind," as he says, I can give him a hand: "I don't want to miss. In this sweaty crowded mess, I want to hit only the ones I need to hit, and if at all possible, no one else. I don't want to miss." Levy's narrative ("They set out to bomb young police officers' graduation ceremony") misses the big picture - that this is an existential war. According to this narrative, the Israeli pilot must be forced to face the results of his actions. On the afternoon of October 20, 1975, the army received intelligence about a graduation ceremony being held by the Popular Resistance Committees in a godforsaken village in northern Lebanon, on the Syrian border. At exactly 5 P.M., the exact hour of the ceremony, I found myself 15,000 feet above it, leading three other pilots, each carrying eight quarter-ton bombs. I could see the village, its soccer field and the dark rectangle of the graduates of the explosives course run by Ahmed Jibril. As my plane dove, in the second before I pushed the button to release the bombs, I saw the edges of that rectangle beginning to peel off and seek shelter from our aircraft. I thought about my mission during the long flight from Tel Nof Air Force Base to that distant village. I knew for certain that those proud graduates of a terror training course would be surrounded by family members and others. But I did not hesitate for a second in my responsibility to make sure the course's graduates did not apply their knowledge in Admit, Zarit, Misgav Am or any other northern border community. I don't want to miss, I told myself, I want my bombs to strike only the dark rectangle at the center of the field. When number 4 said "Go," I saw black smoke rise from the village and I knew people had been killed, much like the ones Levy describes. Since then, I have not been to the village to check whether indeed people I did not intend to kill were killed. On the way back, over Kiryat Shmona, I rolled over and had a look at headquarters. The people looked small, like tiny dots. I didn't go to Kiryat Shmona that night either. I will never know how many lives in that city were saved, simply because 15 minutes earlier my friends and I had been in northern Lebanon. Maj. Gen. (res.) Giora Rom was a fighter pilot and deputy Air Force commander. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Egypt-Syria rift The Gaza situation demands more than a truce. It demands pan-Arab reconciliation. No Talking Livni rejects offer to contact Hamas via Russia for Gaza truce talks.   1.   Pilot`s mind 07:39  |  Al High 04/01/09   2.   Thanks to Giora Rom 13:46  |  Mike 04/01/09   3.   GIORA ROM`S ARTICLE WILL 14:29  |  Robert 04/01/09   4.   I like the article, don`t like the details 16:18  |  Moshe 04/01/09   5.   God is our might, We shall be free. 18:59  |  William Levenworth 04/01/09   6.   remember halutz... 19:16  |  ravi 04/01/09

Read & React Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff: How much time does the IDF have left in Gaza? Responses: 10 Sarkozy: Hamas to blame for suffering of Palestinians in Gaza Responses: 11 'We lost our homes for nothing,' says reservist from former Gaza settlement Responses: 21 Amir Oren: What's happening in Gaza is neither war nor occupation Send response More Headlines 09:24 IDF officer, 5 soldiers hurt as troops battle Hamas in Gaza 09:59 IDF shell kills Palestinian family of seven near Gaza City 09:59 Sarkozy: Hamas to blame for suffering of Palestinians in Gaza 03:17 ANALYSIS / How much time is left for the IDF to operate in Gaza? 09:26 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 05:25 'We lost our homes for nothing,' says reservist from former Gaza settlement 09:42 Israel seeks to isolate Hamas in cease-fire talks with Europe 09:27 ANALYSIS / Will Gaza deal share fate of failed Lebanon accord? 09:26 IDF general warns of Hezbollah retaliation against North 09:47 Turkey's Erdogan: Israel committing 'inhuman' deeds in Gaza 09:41 No humanitarian crisis in Gaza? 04:29 Gaza war sparks tensions for Israeli Arab soccer team 04:28 Barak's political fortunes seen rising with each missile that pounds Gaza 05:54 Reservists apprehensive, excited as thousands report for duty 06:36 In the south, support for Gaza op is far from unanimous 01:32 Madoff victims selling memorabilia of disgraced financier on eBay 01:48 Foreign journalists vie for the few slots to get into Gaza 03:08 Southerners rely on local support networks rather than national gov't Previous Editions Select Day 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec

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