"No Such Thing As Innocent Civilians?" "Widespread Destruction As A Means Of Deterrence" A 2006 War Strategy Called "The Dahiya Doctrine"
Now You Can At Least "Make Sense" Of What Makes No Human Sense, From Gaza, When You Understand This "Doctrine" and How It Functions—It's NOT TRYING To Spare Civilians or Civilian Infrastructure
Note: I’m trying to keep things factual, more than interpretive. I don’t respect histrionics—am tuning out angry people, trying to function as a micro news outlet. (Time still limited due to book deadline but I devote time each day, and when possible, will devote more.)
I welcome ground reports dispatches to enhance my reportage and understanding.
How I see it now:
What’s happening and has been happening for so long is so confusing to us because we did not know about the Dahiya Doctrine, described here:
(Maybe I should speak for myself. I am just now—today— learning of it.)
Here is a video that lays out what this is, and below you will text that does the same. What happened to Goldstone after The Goldstone Report came out?
Israel Defense Forces, Targeting (warfare),
Dahiya doctrine
The Dahiya doctrine is a military strategy put forth by the Israeli general Gadi Eizenkot that pertains to asymmetric warfare in an urban setting, in which the army deliberately targets civilian infrastructure, as a means of inducing suffering for the civilian population, thereby establishing deterrence.[1] The doctrine is named after a southern suburb in Beirut with large apartment buildings which were flattened by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the 2006 Lebanon War.[2] Israel has been accused of implementing the strategy during the Gaza War.
History 2006 Lebanon War The first public announcement of the doctrine was made by General Gadi Eizenkot, commander of the IDF's northern front, in October 2008. He said that what happened in the Dahiya (also transliterated as Dahiyeh and Dahieh) quarter of Beirut in 2006 would, "happen in every village from which shots were fired in the direction of Israel. We will wield disproportionate power against [them] and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases. [...] This isn't a suggestion. It's a plan that has already been authorized. [...] Harming the population is the only means of restraining Nasrallah."[3][4]Noting that Dahiya was the Shiite quarter in Beirut that was razed by the Israeli Air Force during the Second Lebanon War, Israeli journalist Yaron London wrote in 2008 that the doctrine, "will become entrenched in our security discourse."[2]Operation Cast LeadWhether by design or default, Israel at least partially implemented such a strategy during Operation Cast Lead.[5] The 2009 Goldstone Report makes several references to the Dahiya doctrine, calling it a concept which requires the application of "widespread destruction as a means of deterrence" and which involves "the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations." The Fact Finding Mission which submitted the Report concluded that the doctrine had been put into practice during the conflict.[1]CriticismThe doctrine is defined in a 2009 report by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel as follows: "The military approach expressed in the Dahiye Doctrine deals with asymmetrical combat against an enemy that is not a regular army and is embedded within civilian population; its objective is to avoid a protracted guerilla war. According to this approach Israel has to employ tremendous force disproportionate to the magnitude of the enemy’s actions." The report further argues that the doctrine was fully implemented during Operation Cast Lead.[6]
Richard Falk wrote that under the doctrine, "the civilian infrastructure of adversaries such as Hamas or Hezbollah are treated as permissible military targets, which is not only an overt violation of the most elementary norms of the law of war and of universal morality, but an avowal of a doctrine of violence that needs to be called by its proper name: state terrorism."[7]
Liberal-left leaning Herzog makes the case for genocide and no innocent civilians, here.
Very disturbing clip.
ABC News, of all people, reporting on protests in Israel against Netanyahu calling him a “murderer” but this clip gives the false impression of mass protests now. (Older image used.)
Link to clip here.
Again, I strongly advocate watching news channels from Gaza, like this one, to see what American news does not only not want you to see but does not want you to believe there is any justification for trying to “see.”
Because of the too strong impact of images of children harmed and killed, I am for now embedding images into links, but this could change in the future. Publishing images from Gaza does not preclude sympathy for Israeli victims. However, it seems to me that Israeli victims are getting plenty of coverage, whereas Gaza victims are not.
I could not imagine why these people were killed on the road while evacuating. I sent this clip to a few friends around the world and kept “thinking” about what it was I was “missing.” Nobody else seemed to understand better than I did.
It only “makes sense” when you learn about Dahiya.” Nothing on Israel’s part is pure emotional wrath, nor irrational over-reaction, but rather, well established military strategy, (partly invented by American Curtis LeMay, to evade prison for war crimes.)
I welcome your feedback, as ever. Please know that I won’t be able to attend to comments until after book deadline, which is imminent. But please know that I will eventually review all comments.
We aim to make this a propaganda free zone, where we are free to both think, feel, learn, and evolve.
I’m considering how impactful images of children are and how they have been used to drive the entire post Oct 7 narrative.
I’ve noticed the people of Gaza had very strong bonds with their cats.
Cat bids farewell to child.
This periodical considers the bombing of Gaza to be genocide, especially since Israel openly admits it.
Let’s all adjust our histrionics and moral angling accordingly.
It’s genocide that is considered militarily fruitful. Dayiha Doctrine.
I am utterly in awe. You have a knack for finding the undeniable—I won't even use the overused word "truth," but the absolutely documented undeniable core of an issue, and present the evidence. This is an extraordinary and incredibly useful compendium... Thank you.
I wish it was all that simple—there is no place to go in Gaza, no bomb shelters, no safe institutional buildings, nowhere to hide. People are crammed into very small spaces because, attack by attack over the years, probably about 30% of the housing stock has been destroyed & Israel will not allow rebuilding. The "Human Shields" business is, frankly, absurd. Schools have traditionally been targeted & bombed as well as medical facilities & medical personnel, & most of the victims are civilians. They have no army, no tanks, no air force, etc. In other words, they are, essentially, sitting ducks, & many many women & children & plain men will be flattened in the coming days & weeks. And nothing will come of it but more bloodshed & more hatred...