On the television the other day, I heard a pro-Israeli commentator say that “Hamas must stop firing missiles at Israel.” He almost got away with it. It took a couple of moments before a dissenting voice was heard and it was pointed out that Hamas had not fired missiles, it had fired rockets. He waved it away as just an insignificant slip of the tongue. Rockets, missiles, what is the big deal? It is the same thing: Weapons that kill.
It is not the same thing at all, and the difference is telling. The Israelis have an army firing state-of-the-art missiles. Hamas are a band of militants firing rockets. Imagine a battle where one side is armed with machine guns and the other with bows and arrows. Missiles are guided, smart, precise and, most importantly, powerful. Rockets make a lot of noise, undoubtedly cause damage where they happen to land, but they are mere fireworks compared to missiles. Or to put in more bluntly, fire 100 rockets and you might get one casualty. Fire one missile and you could kill a hundred.
The difference between a missile and a rocket is also psychological. A missile is a military strategy. When its power is overwhelming, it can shock and awe. Armed with a nuclear warhead it becomes a deterrent. Aimed at your enemy, it keeps you safe.
A rocket is an emotional reaction. It won’t win wars nor conquer territory. Hamas cannot possibly match Israel’s fire. Launching rockets at Israel is simply a way for Gazans to feel that they are not sitting ducks being decimated by a mighty army. It gives the illusion that they are fighting back.
It is not only emotional, it is irrational and counterproductive. Hamas firing rockets gave Israel the fig leaf of justification it wanted for the massacre we are seeing today. The rockets have never been a threat to Israel, but they provide a convenient excuse for a government in an election year to win votes. They also provide Israel with an opportunity to continue with its long-term goal of destroying Palestine. The weaker, the poorer, the more defeated and desperate Palestinians become, the easier it is for Israel to negotiate a two-state solution that grabs more land and rights for the Israelis and leaves the Palestinians with barely enough to eke out an existence. But like them or not — and personally I have no sympathy for Hamas as a movement, quite the contrary — you cannot blame them for firing the only weapons they have.
Rockets are like suicide bombers, they are the last resort of the desperate. Terrorist attacks are the most extreme example of a senseless, irrational, emotional reaction to a real problem. The terrorists will never win. They will never achieve their aims because their aims are unachievable. The result is that the carnage and havoc they cause becomes their raison d’être because it gives them the illusion of power. A handful of terrorists can bring a city the size of Mumbai to its knees. But only for a day or two.
Similarly the war on terror is a rocket rather than a missile. It is George W. Bush reacting emotionally to a terrorist attack in his own country. Someone has got to pay. You are with us or against us. It is a black-and-white rhetoric that is not only ineffective but counterproductive. All the war on terror has done is create more recruits for the terrorists and harden the lives of ordinary innocent people.
Rockets may not be an effective military weapon but they are effective emotionally. Futhermore, an emotional reaction generates a chain of emotional reactions. The image of Hamas firing rockets at Israel’s Goliath of an army makes many Arabs want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hamas even if they despise what it stands for. The emotional power comes from the illusion that they have an answer to Arab impotence. Similarly, terrorists gain recruits because the problems they cite are real, even if the solutions they provide are wrong and destined to fail. They give the impotent the illusion that they can stand up and fight; therein lies their power.
There is a world of difference between a missile and a rocket, but when all is said and done, perhaps the pro-Israeli commentator had a point: Missiles, rockets, what is the difference? They are all weapons. They all kill. The truth is that neither missiles nor rockets will achieve peace. Missiles can achieve a cease-fire or a truce, but not peace.
Israel will never achieve peace for its citizens through military means just like terror will never be defeated militarily. Peace requires brains, not guns. Peace requires the understanding that the only way to defeat your enemy is by taking away the reason he is your enemy. Peace is in the hands of the Israelis, not the Palestinians, because the conflict is predominantly of their making. All the Palestinians have done is react to Israeli aggression. If the Israelis want peace, the only solution is to give the people whose land they took the chance to live dignified, healthy, prosperous lives.
