"𝙏𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙄𝘾𝘼𝙇 𝙑𝙄𝘾𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔" 𝙑𝙎 "𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙂𝙄𝘾 𝘿𝙀𝙁𝙀𝘼𝙏"~~~~~𝙃𝙊𝙒 𝙄𝙎𝙍𝘼𝙀𝙇 𝙄𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝘼𝙏𝙏𝙇𝙀 𝘽𝙐𝙏 𝙇𝙊𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙍!!!!

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin

In his speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum December 2, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin laid down words worthy of analysis, words certainly already spoken to Israel privately, now issued publicly as if no one listened the first time.

Ever so carefully, Austin lays down a distinction between tactical victory and strategic defeat.

A tactical victory would be Israel obliterating Hamas out of existence and who doubts their capabilility to do just that?  

But, the cost of such a military victory would be a backlash that strategically, from a whole-world perpective for "peace" going forward, would mean "winning the battle while losing the war."

Russia's poorly conceived and ill-timed attack on Ukraine is an example of the same thing; snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Even if Russia had totally blown out, obliterated Ukraine militarily, if that "victory" resulted in strengthening the resolve of NATO, more countries even joining NATO, the whole operation was a "strategic defeat" and that's actually what happened minus the military victory.

Israel's Destruction in Gaza

Now, the same factors play for Israel in wiping Hamas off the map, even knocking down every structure in Gaza from north to south, doesn't actually make Israel safer, but makes their position more tenuous.

The United States tried saying it more tactfully; strike only military targets, not civilian populations, but those plain words did not get Israel's ear.

So, now it's being said differently as in explaining that a "tactical victory" could be/will be a "strategic defeat."

Still, the simplest way to say it is "you win the battle but lose the war."

Looking at things historically, the holocaust proved catastrophic for Germany, Pearl Harbor was the worst thing to ever happen to Japan, the Ukraine invasion took Russia down and obliterating Hamas via indiscriminate destruction in Gaza will weaken Israel for generations.