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In a sense, combat is an ongoing act of valor on both sides. Soldiers giving their lives to defend their ideals and to protect their comrades-in-arms; their opponents doing exactly the same thing; cultures colliding. In the midst of mankind at our most destructive, sometimes these moments of nobility and heroic beauty can shine like a flare over the pitch battlefield.
Such a moment may have occurred today in Beit Hanuh, Gaza, where 15 Palestinian militants had been holed up in a local mosque overnight.
The fighters were seeking protection from the Israeli helicopter gunships who were prosecuting "Operation Autumn Clouds." A Hamas rally today attracted around 400 to protest the Israeli incursion. Israeli helicopter gunships fired in their vicinity trying to disperse them, but failed; three people were killed, 25 injured.
From that crowd, a group of 200 or so heavily-veiled women left the rally and marched to the mosque. There they surrounded the fighters with their unarmed bodies so that they could not be seen, and escorted the men to freedom. Hamas confirmed that they planned the rescue.
I admit, as a vocal supporter of Israel, that I have mixed feelings about this. Nonetheless, it is reminiscent of Gandhi in its nonviolent approach, and it worked beautifully.
I have questions:
Would Gandhi have endorsed such a maneuver to free violent fighters? Would he have condoned them hiding in a temple?
Is it a correct extension of this logic to expect Palestinian soldiers to use unarmed women as shields in street combat?
Is this a heroic act of nonviolence, nobility and self-sacrifice by the women, or another strategy of asymmetric warfare?
What would you expect an American soldier confronting such a situation in Iraq to do?