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Is the Iraq war a "western war"? I for one feel we're doing quite well there since we have adapted our tactics. If you excuse Israel for fighting in "just another ME war", you only prolong the cycle. The ME war style rarely results in a lasting peace, more often it results in catastrophic casualties.
First of all, we're a western nation. We will fight like a western nation does. I think that is the better way to do things, myself.
But what I said doesn't excuse Israel, it simply explains how the mindset is. I never said we should just allow it to happen. Like I said, "We can always hope for it, and make a serious effort for the wars to be waged as such".
A serious effort to try and get them to wage war as we do in the west implies the exact opposite of "excusing" Israel.
If one doesn't understand the reasons why they wage war in this fashion, no legitimate effort can be made to exact change in the way that ME war is waged.
You absolutely need to be aware of the reasoning that causes the parties to wage war in this fashion if there is any hop eof getting them to renounce certain tactics.
You must approach the problem from their POV in order to try and alter that POV.
The difference here is the difference between "expect" and "hope".
If I meet a drug addict on the street and I tell them that they are killing themselves, I don't expect them to suddenly give up drugs. I could hope that they would, but to expect such is naive.
But simply telling them that their actions are bad and attempting to sanction them for that behavior will NEVER fix the problem. Instead you must come at the problem form their mindset. Address the underlying problems in order to cause a change in their behavior.
If you do that, you STILL shouldn't "expect" a change, but their is a greater chance that your "hopes" will be fullfilled.