Israel Winning the War in Gaza? (with Andrew Fox) 9/9/24

British Army major and Sandhurst lecturer Andrew Fox recently spent a
week with the Israel Defense Forces including a day inside Gaza. He was
struck by the IDF's control of Gazan territory and shocked by the level
of physical devastation. Listen as Fox and EconTalk's Russ Roberts
discuss Fox's analysis of Israel's performance in the Gazan war, why Fox
believes that Israel is succeeding, and what he thinks Israel's critics
get right and wrong.
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[jameseeyor]

What a class act intro, Russ! Thank you for always being clear, precise, balanced, sharp and more. Much appreciated and I hope the world lasts for you.

[MrSevam]

An excellent podcast RR and long long overdue ! ! We have been bombarded for far too long by social media platforms and partisan Western public media . A highly qualified and non- aligned commentator with the skill and stature of Andrew Fox goes a long way towards establishing some balance and perspective . Well done to you both.

[johndoe-vcwe]

Just half way in and this is turning out to be an excellent educational discussion.

[GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

John Spencer the expert in urban warfare from West point has remarked at the astoundingly low civilian to combatant death ratio that Israel has achieved in Gaza.
Us interference wasn't discussed, the fact that Egypt facilitated 150 tunnels on the border while a peace treaty which obligated them to report and destroy such tunnels instead of profiting from human smuggling, the US says nothing but sanctions random Israelis incessantly.
Qataris hosting the largest American military base and the evil doers from Hamas is an odd contrast all while tolerating the houthis and funding Iran with $600 million in cash on pallets.

[VincentFulco]

Professor Roberts, you do a terrific job. Keep up the great work.

[Injustice]

I wish he would organize his playlist by topics instead of years

[brianmulholland]

I've been unswayed by claimed of any kind of genocide or systemic callousness by Israel, but I do think they've made some mistakes that Netanyahu and the govt aren't taking seriously enough.

First, I think choosing the maximalist goal of eliminating Hamas made all of this inevitable and forseeable. Israel should have known that such an ambitious war goal would create a humanitarian nightmare and been better prepared for it, and even delayed the operation TO prepare for it.

But worse, this war aim seems short-sighted in the extreme. Given Hamas' insurgent nature, it was always going to be near impossible, but even if we imagine the IDF succeeding, you've just created EXACTLY the conditions that will hyperradicalize the next generation. Not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Does anyone believe that there aren't young men in these countries watching and fuming with anger? Does anyone think Iran won't just prop up Hamas 2.0? And if anything, the new Hamas will be MORE reliant, and likely MORE obedient to Iran.

Russ talks about deterrence, and I get that. I'm in no way arguing that they should have chosen some minimalist response to Oct 7 either....but something like this invasion doesn't deter. It enrages. The seeds of the next 5 decades of ascending violence are being planted today. And those 5 decades will happen with Israel's international support being softer than it's been in the past.

And what comes after Hamas is 'destroyed'? Will Israel occupy Gaza? Or will it walk away, leaving the place in chaos? Neither is a good choice. This all just looks like we've only thought one move ahead on the chessboard.

[YOGAthletica]

A brilliant and important talk. Thank you, Andrew for your honest and clear assessment and thank you, Russ, for continuing to have these insightful conversations! 🙏🙏🙏

Russ, please do not equivocate or apologize for standing up for Israel. This is a fight of good vs pure evil. Yes, war is ugly, but it is also a moral imperative right now.

Also, a bit shocking to hear you claim that the anti-Israel protesters are not motivated by antisemitism. We are literally witnessing the worst global antisemitism since WWII. Many would claim today’s antisemitism is even more insidious and pervasive than it was back then.

[hypatia]

No, no - it is not in any way - illegal - to be a jew in Norway. That is simply not true. What is true is that police aided and abetted the deportation of jew during the 2WW. Itwas a horrible crime that is still being debated here. There is a lot of shame, I as a Norwegian, shudder at the treatment of the jews during and also after the 2WW. It is crushing.

[Kyzyl_Tuva]

Thank you for having Andrew on Russ. He’s brilliant. I do agree with him about Iran: Ceterum censeo Mullahs Persici esse delendam

[ronan]

So to be clear Mr Fox, did you personally witness "every other house" having a tunnel or a booby trap?

[iakg]

genocide is genocide & regardless of your smart talk it still remains genocide.

[alexfranklin]

If Russia can annex Ukraine what prevent Israel to annex their ancestral property. How can it be two line of justice - if Russia do it is correct UN also Dumb but if Israel is annexing their ancestral property it is wrong ?

[Fray]

I'm not really interested in your moral judgments about good Israel is. I was hoping for some kind of objective military analysis.

[FlamingBasketballClub]

48:00-49:00 What does Europe's history of anti-Semitism have to do with the recognition of Palestine as a nation state?
❓❔

[shulahamilton]

There are three houses in Islam: House al Islam (where everybody practices Islam), House al Harb ( the house of war, to force conversion of the world to Islam) and House al Salam (where everybody practices Islam and no more war) During war civilians die, It's a fact of the act. We, did the same w/Dresden. The city was full of factories of war products, munitions, etc. The same is w/ Hamas. Gaza is full of deposits of munitions under hospitals, civilian brother"s family is under siege in Israel. I have no sympathy for the civilians used as human shields because as I said before: during war civilians die. They are the first victims of war.

[fariaafridi]

Why isn't he being asked about children being arrested and thrown into military jails? Is he gonna find a way to justify that too?!

[thesponge]

This podcast was another casualty of the israel-hamas war