In the present situation where India is fighting against terrorism as well as Israel struggling in its long war,their similarities and differences are very evident.At the first instant,one would feel India should follow Israel in launching military action against Pakistan,No doubt India enjoys conventional superiority over the Pakistani Army,but then there are notable differences between India and Israel.We are battling terrorists;Israelis are battling those so called terrorists.Both their opponents and ours are armed and trained with the help of external actors.This is where the similarities end.Israel faces existential crisis and has been facing since the moment it was created,surrounded by hostile Arab states.It has an unwilling Palestanian population under its control.We have no such fears.India is a large country and indestructible.The most that terrorists can do is to bleed us.The second big difference is that Israel is dealing with groups based in territories under its control;India is dealing with terrorists outside India.
More importantly,the idea that Israelis are masters at carrying out such missions is a myth.Two famous missions created this myth: the surgical strike against Osirak nuclear installation,which stunted Iraq's ability to create N-weapons;the commando operation at Entebbe in Uganda,during which Israelis were freed from a hijacked plane with a minimum loss of life.This created the impression that Israel could inflict damage upon its enemies without being touched,but since then the myth has diverged from the reality.Two years ago,Israel marched into Lebanon thinking they would destroy Hezbollah but retraced in disgrace.And now in Gaza,their claims of attacking the Hamas- a terrorist organisation and a legitimate target-Israel has attacked a civilian population and even bombed a UN School.This is not an example we should follow.
What has Israel achieved with attacks on the Palestanians?The moderates have been sidelined,the extremists been encouraged and after a history of 60 years of military actions against the Palestanians,Israelis still live in an atmosphere of fear for their very existence.If this were to happen to Pakistan after military attack by India,India would confront a failed state and a Talibanised neighbour.There would be o prospect of durable peace in the foreseeable future.
The real enemy is the ISI and the terrorist groups that continue to receive military backing.They need to be isolated from the larger Pakistani nation.
