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Last update - 20:32 05/01/2009 Why the West can't win By Avraham Burg Tags: israel, israel news, gaza  Beyond the two piles of bodies and the mourning and bereavement of both peoples, through the fragmented voices of Israel's leadership, it's already possible to feel the sour taste of the next combat loss. We haven't won anything since the Six-Day War. We managed to be saved from disaster in 1973, we got ensnared but survived in 1982, and there is no lack of other examples. Why is this happening? Why do our wars end in a permanent accord of ambiguity? I think it's no longer possible to win wars. We're not the only ones who can't; the West as a whole is incapable of doing so. It's hard for me to remember a single war in the past 60 years that the United States clearly and decisively won. Dresden and Berlin were pounded to the ground, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed, and from there the West embarked on a new path. Western Europe almost totally abandoned the war option. It doesn't fight, and in any case isn't assessed on the basis of its ability to win wars. The United States, by contrast, went from isolationism to being the country chiefly responsible for Western state-sponsored violence. It has a mighty army, and it knows better than anyone how to deploy its forces to the starting line, but from there onward something always gets messed up. Korea wasn't a wonderful victory, Vietnam ended in disgrace, and the Gulf wars are not considered great military achievements. Advertisement It looks like something in the DNA of the West no longer allows it to declare war like it used to do. Western civilization is no longer capable of fighting a war that aims to destroy - neither in principle nor on the level of the soldiers' willingness to act in ways that are a kind of crime in their civilian world, the world of their values. The wars of the previous century, along with the Holocaust of European Jewry, taught the West several lessons, central among which is the abolition of the doctrine of war; the West went from destroying and humiliating the enemy to maintaining its ability to rehabilitate itself, preserve its dignity, change and become a partner instead of a rival. The mistake made with Germany after World War I was taken to heart, and Germany has become an important focus of the new Western alignment. Japan's dignity was not violated, and it has become a loyal ally of democratic Westernism. That's where the new type of victory began - the kind that doesn't wipe out the possibility of dialogue with yesterday's rival. In addition, there appears to be a deep-seated connection between the intensity of a society's commitment to human rights - the dignity and freedom accorded within the country - and the willingness of that country's soldiers to obliterate the other. The greater the intensity of the awareness of freedom, the less are people willing to decimate the enemy. The question remains as to how a just society fights enemies who do not share the same value system, and how to redefine what victory is. It seems to me that if the goal of a war is the destruction of the enemy, it is a war that is doomed to fail. For reasons that are well-known to us, it is no longer possible to annihilate nations or at least suppress their aspirations of independence. And for no less important reasons, one must hope that we do not have soldiers who are willing to destroy solely for destruction's sake. The objective of modern war must be war for the purpose of forging dialogue. And if no dialogue with the enemy develops, then the war must be deemed a failure. It therefore appears that Israel's leadership in the Gaza war is due to fail in our names - just like the Palestinian religious leaders ushering their people to another failure rooted in ignoring the metamorphosis of the concept of victory, from subduing to talking, from slaughtering to bridge-building. Just as bridges were ultimately built above the tempestuous waters between Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, between Dresden and London, and between Catholic and Protestant Dublin, there is a bridge between Sderot and Gaza. Those who do not tread on it will lead their nations to failure in all their wars. The writer is a former Labor MK and chairman of the Jewish Agency. Bookmark to del.icio.us   French peace drive Sarkozy tells Peres IDF Gaza op does not strengthen Abbas. Bush on Gaza Bush says Israel has right to protect itself against Gaza attacks.   1.   He has it 100% wrong 09:53  |  Dov 05/01/09   2.   Why the West can`t win 10:11  |  Haim 05/01/09   3.   Dov has it 50% wrong 11:25  |  Udi 05/01/09   4.   Have you read the Hamas Charter, Mr. Burg? 11:59  |  Mladen Andrijasevic 05/01/09   5.   to Dov #1 12:05  |  zeev 05/01/09   6.   Got it right, up until the last part 13:18  |  MarkC 05/01/09   7.   Mr. Burg you should know better 13:45  |  monostor 05/01/09   8.   Japan and `democratic westernism`? 13:53  |  Rowan Berkeley 05/01/09   9.   Injustice cannot win. Evil falls of its` own weight. 16:28  |  Lou Medel 05/01/09   10.   Well...that was helpful... 16:34  |  David 05/01/09   11.   how very silly. win by choosing to win. 00:04  |  frenz 06/01/09   12.   frenz 01:04  |  A.M. 06/01/09   13.   Most wars are started by bullies. 08:30  |  Tony Price 06/01/09

Read & React Bradley Burston / Gaza War Diary III: If Mexico shelled Texas, like Hamas shells Israel Responses: 126 Three IDF soldiers killed, one critically wounded by friendly fire in Gaza Responses: 31 40 Palestinians killed in IDF strike on UN school in Gaza Responses: 46 ANALYSIS / Israel is on its way to reoccupying all of the Gaza Strip Responses: 25 ANALYSIS / Price of stubborness over Gaza exit is dead Israeli soldiers Responses: 55 More Headlines 20:08 At least 30 Gazans killed in IDF strike on UN school 20:06 Olmert to Haaretz: The sooner Israel can end its Gaza offensive, the better 20:11 Five Israeli soldiers killed, as IDF closes in on Gaza cities 19:22 'He entered Gaza with total determination,' says widow of slain IDF soldier 20:29 French President Sarkozy: Deal on Gaza truce 'not far away' 20:07 Hospitalized but defiant, Israeli soldiers eager to return to Gaza battle 16:21 Gaza rocket hits Gedera, 30km from Tel Aviv; baby lightly hurt 17:12 ANALYSIS / Price of stubborness over Gaza exit is dead soldiers 14:37 ANALYSIS / Israel is on its way to reoccupying all of the Gaza Strip 18:20 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 19:17 'Iran pledged Hezbollah won't respond to Gaza op,' says top Lebanese MP 18:39 Jewish and Arab students clash on Gaza offensive 13:06 ANALYSIS / The unspoken goal of bringing down Hamas in Gaza 13:40 Israeli general: Never knew I was evacuating my wounded soldier son from Gaza 08:58 The IDF's Golani Brigade: Always first on the scene at the front line 13:00 Burning car rams synagogue in southwest France 13:46 Egypt bars doctors from entering Gaza Strip 05:44 Hamas puts Gazans in danger by drawing IDF into urban warfare 18:21 PICTURE GALLERY / Gaza incursion sparks protests around world 08:37 India PM: Pakistani officials must have backed Mumbai attack Previous Editions Select Day 05 jan 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec

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