A War Under a Microscope

We all do it. Since the war began in Gaza two weeks ago, we are glued to the computer, TV, radio, something to give us a glimpse of what is going on. We keep our browser on internet news websites, sometimes several at a time, and flip them compulsively. We get frustrated if there are no new updates even if the last viewing was 5 or 10 minutes before. Every movement, every blast, every quote is gobbled up. The news services know it. They armies know it. Mostly, the enemy knows it.

This is a war under a microscope. The public watches the war in real time and the broadcasts are instantaneous. The IDF even has a YouTube site to capture the public’s attention with footage. There is no room for error, no ability to just get on with the battle. Every witness with a cell phone/camera/recorder can portray what they wish of the proceedings.

This is a very difficult way to fight a war. In the two World Wars, in the days of mass communication being radio and well orchestrated newsreels of the war efforts, the governments provided the public with what they wished them to see. No more. Every casualty, no matter how peripheral, is immediately launched into the face of all who wish to see. The scrutiny creates two fronts; the battlefield itself and the war waged in the media, with the battlers defending every move that is made.

The problem with this is that, as any student of high school biology can tell you, a microscope is a great way to get close to the action, but is a lousy way to see the whole picture. As a scientist, someone who makes my living studying patterns of cells under microscopes, the message is very clear to me. To make a diagnosis, to understand the disease, or to comprehend the consequences of a particular inflammatory response, you need to look at multiple fields with your microscope. You need to get a complete picture, or else you miss the point. You could see healthy tissue and miss the disease, or you could see an aberration and miss the fact that the situation is not as alarming as you thought.

This war under a microscope can lead people to believe that the battle is a series of horrendous acts that have no point. Why would one not think that? A picture of a child lying on the street, a blown-up house, a doll lying on a passageway, a destroyed school…. This is what you see under the lens, looking at a narrow field that has been chosen for its effect, for its media punch, for its’ newsworthiness, or for its political message. But by viewing only a narrow field, you can clearly miss the point.

The big picture is one of a nation trying to protect itself in a fight against a terrorist entity. One of an army lifting up a doll on the ground and finding it attached to a land mine or leading into a subterranean catacomb storing arms and hiding fugitives. Of a war that pauses for 3 hours a day to allow for aid trucks to roll by, only to have the enemy hijack or “tax” the trucks and sell the goods to the suffering population. These things are not under the microscope, because they paint a picture that is totally different than the impression you can get from looking at a few select, ugly incidents.

The battle is one that we who have Western values should look at in the context of the global picture, rather than simply the microscope of Israelis and Palestinians. This is a war of a sovereign nation against a neighbor that professes a hatred of the very core values that we define as humanity. A foe that believes that a love of death supersedes love of life. Ironically, they focus on deaths and casualties publicly, while privately celebrating the “martyrdom” of the fallen. They utilize the civilians around as shields, then crow about the abhorrent behavior of the Israeli army when there is collateral damage. There is no need for them to consider a cease fire; every casualty that is accumulated just adds to the public relations ammunition that they have. They believe time is on their side, and they have honed and polished the lenses of the microscope to reflect what they wish the world to see. There is little difference between this approach and the explosive reaction to cartoons of Mohammed, and to other ‘justifications’ for terror. There is no real justification; it is simply the way they choose to focus the microscope.

We need to force the world to look at multiple fields, to scan the big picture, as it should. Then people will not just see unconnected scenes of damage and destruction. They will see a desperate struggle of a civilized nation who wishes to protect its citizens, who are fighting the battle that we hope does not spread all over the world. The battle for our fundamental freedom as civilized, democratic, G-d fearing nations. This is where the focus must be, as it is a goal that we cannot lose sight of.