HAMAS ROCKETS THAT HIT NOTHING…OR DO THEY?

It was nearly twenty-four years ago.

It was about 2am when the “ Alarm Red…. Condition Black alert sounded over the whole compound.

It was the second week of this nightly event and to my amazement, a simple handful of troops came out of their tents and headed for their concrete, makeshift, bunkers.

About two minutes into the alarms going off for the second time that night, I just happen to look up and noticed just how beautiful the night sky was.

As I was admiring the night sky, ignoring the Alarm like everyone else, I was blinded by the flash and the ear piercing roar only 50 yrds from where I was standing.

It was a Patriot Battery and it had just fired two rockets into the night sky.

I was sector Defense OIC and as such, I was probably the only one dressed sprinting for the nearest bunker tearing at my gasmask pouch in a full run!!!

I was just reaching for my handheld radio, that was completely useless given the level of sound from alarms going off all around me, and was about to ascertain the status of the “inbound” when a brilliant white flash over dilated my eyes in the dark of the night.

As I stood there wondering just how close that impact was, I shock-wave came ripping through the tents next to the bunker!

My command post bunker was about 200 yrds away from where I was standing and as I took off  running, with my mask nearly on correctly, my entire perspective of the war that was in week number two changed.

It was the second time in two weeks I had a true reminder where I was and what I was involved in.

Saddam had one goal every night; keep the pilots up….keep them running from their beds to their bunkers and wear them down mentally.

Trust me, after that event, we all knew it was working…..including the totally nude A10 pilots that came out of the shower tent in a dead sprint…..butt naked…. Yep.. no mask with them at all times…just like the rest of the troops who were in “rest cycle”.

Did Saddam’s plan work?

Some would say no…

The air campaign crushed his forces beyond anything anyone had ever witnessed in modern warfare.

I also remember a very heated argument over the amount of Maverick missiles being expended by week two on targets such as cactus and vehicles blown up days earlier.

I remember heading to the flight line on full response because a missile have fired off one of the A10s wings and lodged into the revetments surrounding the aircraft.

In both instances, the explanation was “fatigue”!

Was the fatigue from the tempo of the battle?

Maybe…probably.

Could these events been the result of random Scud shots into our Area, staggered all night long?

Well; I have my opinion.

So what does this have to do with anything?

What does this have to do with what is taking place in Israel tonight?

Let me ask a question to see if I can answer a question.

Is Hamas and its supporters truly disappointed with the inaccuracy of its rockets?

Do their rockets have to strike a viable target in order to be successful?

What is the definition of “successful”?  

Hamas fires a salvo and the IDF responds with a pounding for hours.

As soon as the jets clear the area, more rockets take to the sky!

What is the message and who is winning the war of wills and more importantly, who is winning the war of perception?

Are the people of Israel running for shelters all several times a night?

Are they just staying in the shelters?

How disruptive is this action to the rhythm of Israel?

Does Hamas and its supporters get a double strike when a dead child is shown on social media and international news networks?

It’s now day five, and the story from Hamas is this; “ we are still here and we can still strike back and we will not stop”!

So, does this moral victory mean the IDF will become more desperate and thus increase the death toll in Gaza?

Does this mean the world opinion will soon do as it did in  2006, 2008, 2012…. Turn on Israel?

Is  that turning of international opinion worth the price of young children  killed in the dust of concrete?

Is it worth the life long memories of hiding, both Israeli and Palestinian, as a child living in a hellhole called war?

War is a terrible trait of mankind and one that no child should see much less live through.

No; rockets don’t have to strike valued targets to give a desired effect.

A shot that misses is answered with a shot that kills those who are used to hide the weapons that are being used.

A shot that misses is answered by a military that is becoming more and more desperate to show its people they are capable of keeping them from staying in bomb shelters for the next few weeks.

Here is what it really means to both sides.

They are both pushing this tragic event to the very edge!

I said this conflict would be different and I sadly must admit, I may be more accurate than even I imagined.