Sharon's Pyrrhic Victory
by Jaffer Ali <Jaffer@p...>
April 11, 2002
Pyrrhus was the Greek king of Epirus. In 281 BC he invaded
Italy with 25,000 men and 20 elephants. His was the most
powerful army in the world at the time. But his victories
against Rome were so costly that he had to totally withdraw
from Italy. His now famous remark, "Another such victory
and I shall be ruined" eventually gave name to the term
'Pyrrhic victory' for a victory obtained at too great a
cost.
It is worthwhile to consider whether Ariel Sharon is a
modern day Pyrrhus. In 2002, Ariel Sharon invaded the West
Bank and Gaza with 21,000 men and 20 Apache helicopters. He
now has the most powerful army in the region. His invasion
into the refugee camps and villages across the West Bank
and Gaza shall certainly result in his own "Pyrrhic victory."
Why?
Without a doubt, Israel's Occupation of Palestinian
territories has become costly on EVERY front. The Intifada
and armed resistance is devastating Israel in every way.
Besides the loss of life, the one existential problem for
Israel, demography, is the unspoken cost to the state. Due
to differing birth rates amongst the ethnic populations,
all demographic studies estimate that the Palestinian
population will exceed the Jewish population by the year
2020. Adding to the disparate birthrates, Israel, self-
defined as a "Jewish state" is a shrinking country. In order
to maintain a demographic majority, Israel must rely on
immigration of Jews throughout the world.
Is it surprising that there are few takers on the road to
the Zionist Paradise? To exacerbate its existential dilemma,
the country is beginning to de-Zionize. Zionists are LEAVING
in droves, returning to the safe haven of Brooklyn, Miami
or from wherever they immigrated. In the last year alone,
over 3% of its Jewish population has fled.
On the Israeli economic front, the "miracle in the desert"
is near bankruptcy. Its military sales have declined. Its
tourism industry has been eradicated. Its currency has lost
over 11% of its value in one year. Its technology industry
has been devastated by the worldwide technology slump. Its
stock market continues to slide into negative territory. The
recent military invasion is costing Israel more than 1% of
its entire GDP. Unemployment is almost 11%, the highest in
its 54-year history. And its number one export market, the
Occupied territories, has been shut down. Israel's economy
has been turned into a third world agrarian economy, with
Europe recently threatening to ban all economic trade with
her.
So what kind of victory can Sharon and company claim when
its very economic viability is threatened? And even
militarily, can Israel achieve security while devastating
civilian population centers? The mounting war crimes are the
SOURCE of suicide bombings. They are created out of
desperation, injustice and a feeling that no other way to
confront the inhumanity exists.
Oh yes, and what happened to Pyrrhus? He returned to Epirus,
invaded Macedonia and made an unsuccessful attack on Sparta
where he was killed.
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