Aspen, CO – A top Pentagon intelligence official warned on Saturday that the destruction of Hamas would only lead to something more dangerous taking its place, as he offered a grim portrait of a period of enduring regional conflict.
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The remarks by Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, the outgoing head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, came as Israeli ministers signaled that a comprehensive deal to end the 20-day-old conflict in the Gaza Strip appeared remote.
At least 1,050 Gazans – mostly civilians – have been killed, and 42 Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have died.
Flynn disparaged Hamas for exhausting finite resources and know-how to build tunnels that have helped them inflict record casualties on Israelis. Still, he suggested that destroying Hamas was not the answer.
“If Hamas were destroyed and gone, we would probably end up with something much worse. The region would end up with something much worse,” Flynn said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
“A worse threat that would come into the sort of ecosystem there … something like ISIS,” he added, referring to the Islamic State, which last month declared an “Islamic caliphate” in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria.
Confined in the crowded, sandy coast enclave of 1.8 million, where poverty and unemployment hover around 40 percent, weary Gazans say they hope the battle will break the blockade that Israel and Egypt impose on them.
Israeli officials said any ceasefire must allow the military to carry on hunting down the Hamas tunnel network that criss-crosses the Gaza border.
Flynn’s comments about the conflict came during a gloomy, broader assessment of unrest across the Middle East, including in Syria and Iraq. Flynn said bluntly: “Is there going to be a peace in the Middle East? Not in my lifetime.”
He is probably right. Better the devil you know than a devil you do not know.
Nothing worse will come if we stand up to those evil ——–, whatever you want to call them, all that has to be done is to stand up to them and destroy them before they gain more power, do not be mr nice guy to murderers, period, they dont and wont understand anything you will explain to them
This is the kind of foresight that has eluded us for many decades, leading tothe current terrible situation. Instead of seriously supporting Palestinian moderates to help them build a productive society, we villify and undermine, and what we face gets worse and worse PA>Hamas>ISIS. Very sad.
Peace will come when the Gazan civilians are allowed to leave for other Arab land where they can raise their families and work at jobs far away from the threat of Hamas and violence.
Arabs! Take care of your brethren! Allow them the peace you already have! Don’t hold them hostage to politics!
Who cares what this moron thinks? I’d like to know why the military vehicle in the photo was left behind by the IDF.
So we should just sit on our…… And do nothing???
Bible hope is not a fast answer for a bad review. This is the right move and we must continue this action against a terrorist society of hate. And if you think that This world is headed back to Rome, good luck. Gladiators only come once in history. Terror is not wisdom.
Gloomy outlook, but we have bigger blessings.
This arm-chair general knows nothing about the Gaza conflict. There cannot be much worse than Hamas. I think Israel would well be served to take its chances by destroying Hamas. In addition, ISSIS is far removed from the Gaza area which is situated in Iraq that would make it very difficult to penetrate Gaza. He is right about not seeing peace in the Middle East in his life time unless of course Moshiach comes first.
Pentagon Intel is notoriously bad. They missed the so called arab spring, the attack on the bengazi embassy, the ISIS attack on Iraq. Let the IDF destroy the hamas rats. We’ll worry about the next filth after hamas is pushed into the sea.
You fight each and every anyemy that arises and use the same barbarism they use on their own people on them till you enihlate them all
DUMBEST STATEMENT EVER MADE.
ITS LIKE SAYING LIVE WITH HITLER IT COULD BE WORSE.
that is correct destroy the rats, then worry about the new rats when need be, haba lehorgoch hashkem lehorgo
“If we defeat them, something worse will rise.” The craven bellies who want to quit the fight so often tell us so, that their predictability causes boredom. Our traitors told us the same about both Afghanistan and Iraq, yet nothing worse that Taliban came to replace Taliban in Afghanistan and nothing worse than our current president’s, such as he is, namesake came to replace our current president’s, such as he is, namesake in Iraq. And that’s in spite of our current president’s, such as he is, first broadcasting to dates when he is going to run with his tail between his legs, and then… running with his tail between his legs, out of both places.
So, let’s not listen neither to the craven bellies nor the traitors (usually the same liberals). Don’t be like our current president, such as he is. Finish they job. The only way something worse will happen is if you don’t
One carpet bombing of Gaza and one nuke on Iran will fix this problem, no one will ever even think about attacking Israel, many innocents will die but you got to do what you got to do. That is the truth!!!
Yeah, they could end up with someone like Obama
Out with all of these pro arab politicians that have control of Washington they have done enough damage