Hi Mitch, yes, I would agree that I made my critiques of Israel with more self-assurance than humility. If I were to argue against my own point, I would say that who really knows what would have happened if Israel had taken a counterterrorism approach; perhaps things would have turned out worse than right now. Or maybe it would have started with counterterrorism in a way that allowed Hamas to make more horrendous attacks, and then switched tacts to its current strategy—the worst of both worlds. So, yes, I am not 100 percent confident in my assessment, yet it is a reasonable assessment with grounding to it that I provide.

And I also have no idea about many of the things you mention there. Yet I have read various analyses by Israeli military experts (this stuff isn't originating in my little mind) the persuaded me to make this critique.

So we see things a bit differently—though more alike than many others I come into contact with.

Thanks for engaging, Mitch.