First, bravo to
@andymilburn8. As this piece is a must read. I am as pro-Israel as it gets, based on my previous life in the USG as an actual practitioner in the field running joint ops in tuff spots with the Israelis. Side by side. Brothers and sisters in arms. Where we saved hundreds of lives in the CT arena. Shit, my first ops desk in the IC early in my career was even on Hamas. So my pro-Israel creds are better than any armchair warriors who chest thump on social media. And guess what? I agree with Andy in his arguments, that the Israelis went way too far in Gaza. And that the US would never have conducted ourselves in the same manner. I also served in Iraq and Afghanistan for the IC, and collected tactical battlefield intelligence that led to strikes. All the time. I oversaw CT ops in Yemen. Same. Fundamentally-the Israeli model in Gaza is not how the US conducts itself, in urban warfare or any scenario-period. The civcas was far out of the norm. Andy is spot on in his assessment. Second point-that Andy is getting so openly attacked for this article is absurd-and a reflection on how actual debate is almost impossible when it comes to Gaza. The āIsrael can do no wrong crowdā attacks anyone who criticizes Israeli actions. It actually hurts Israel in the long run. Saying this article is somehow Hamas propaganda is laughable. Andy as a member of SOF battled terrorist groups in urban environments throughout his career. Itās insulting to him and his service to insinuate this is Hamas propaganda. Fuck off to anyone who does. Final point- the
@TheTeamHousePod crew (where I am a self appointed honorary member š given my repeated appearances-more than any guest I believe in history of the show ) of
@JackMurphyRGR and
@MickMulroy hav a century of SOF/IC experiences and I will take some liberty and speak for them and note they fully agree with Andy. Mick, like me, has a long history of working with the Israelis. Heās got the chops too. One can support Israel as an indispensable national security ally, while also criticizing your partner for behavior u find absolutely excessive. Thatās what friends do. Thatās all I got. Glad Andy wrote this piece. Wish I would have. Debate is important. Hav a nice day.