Angry in the Great White North

Israel is on the hot seat over the raid on the Mavi Marmara, running the Gaza blockade:

Israel may have won the battle to stop an international flotilla of protesters from reaching the Gaza Strip, but the killing of at least nine of those activists, and the international reaction that followed it, has meant Israel may well lose the diplomatic war.

About 15 Israeli commandos dropped from helicopters onto the deck of the Turkish-flagged ship Mavi Marmara about 4:30 a.m. Monday as the ship steamed from Cyprus, bound for Gaza. Activists on the boat alleged that the commandos fired directly on passengers, but Israeli officials say they used force only after being attacked with knives, clubs and even live fire.

Regardless of what happened on the deck of the ship, the longer-term consequences for Israel could be dire.

Perhaps, but that's because people are being deliberately obtuse.  Thinking that they would face only political protesters and passive resistance, the commandos came down one at a time, without softening up the deck mob with stun grenades, and armed with paintball guns.  The commandos were under orders to not use live fire on the protesters.

Here is what happened.  No reason to use weasel phrases like "regardless of what happened" after watching this video:

There is a basic principle in military circles: first the mission, then your buddies, then everyone else.  If the mission was to turn that ship around, and a commando had to be sacrificed to achieve the mission, then so be it.  If the mission was to turn the ship around, and one of those protesters had to be sacrificed to achieve the mission, then so what.  And if the mission wasn't directly at stake, but one of the soldiers was threatened by a protester, then his fellow soldiers would have no qualms about eliminating that threat.

Cold and harsh and the truth.

After watching that video, I have to ask why so few of the violent protesters were hurt and killed.  These are soldiers, not civilian police officers, yet in most cities, coming at a police officer swinging a metal pipe earns you a fatal body shot.  So why would these soldiers have shown more restraint than civilian police officers?

Simple.  Restraint was part of the mission:

Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation's commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck. The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks, and tied to an antenna with the hopes of bringing the chopper down. However, Flotilla 13 fighters decided to carry on.

The Navy commandoes were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters. The soldiers were told they were to verbally convince activists who offer resistance to give up, and only then use paintballs. They were permitted to use their handguns only under extreme circumstances.

One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandoes were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations. When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other "don't shoot, don't shoot," even though they sustained numerous blows.

At one point, the attackers nabbed one commando, wrested away his handgun, and threw him down from the top deck to the lower deck, 30 feet below. The soldier sustained a serious head wound and lost his consciousness.

Only after this injury did Flotilla 13 troops ask for permission to use live fire. The commander approved it: You can go ahead and fire. The soldiers pulled out their handguns and started shooting at the rioters' legs, a move that ultimately neutralized them. Meanwhile, the rioters started to fire back at the commandoes.

I don't know what's going to happen next.  The Israelis are being hung out to dry by much of the world rushing to judgment, though Canada and the US are standing firm, refusing to join in the condemnations of the "massacre" until more information is forthcoming.

The radicals are sending another ship, no doubt manned with zealots hoping for a chance to kill or be killed.

If there is no upside for Israel to practice restraint, then the choice will be to fold the blockade entirely, or to enforce the blockade with every means at their disposal.   Israelis are upset, not that there was violence on that ship, but that their soldiers were so ill prepared for it.  That won't be allowed to happen again.  The next time, if the Israelis decide to board a ship, you know that it will be an overwhelming response designed to shut down any resistance before it even begins.

"Don't shoot!  Don't shoot!" are words that won't be heard the next time this happens.  All the people so quick to paint Israel as the villain (as always) will have themselves to blame.