Excerpt - Richard Seymour responds to listener's questions (part 2)
01:43 Share

I would caution against any Israeli triumphalism at this point because it is possible to read this escalation and the turn to Lebanon recently as an attempt to break the military impasse, to respond to stalemate by moving on to more productive crises. That would be the pattern of the Netanyahu administration. There is some evidence of exhaustion among Israeli troops

There was a telling detail in a recent report. They described how soldiers were demoralized by having to go back and pass by the same area over and over again. Jabaliya was one example. Now that's because they don't have a strategy. Because once you clear an area, if Hamas then sets themselves up in it after you leave, it's because you haven't really got any idea of what new order you want to create.

In general, there appears to be a growing form of what they call grey refusal, which is where soldiers basically beg off missions without outing themselves as conscientious objectors and facing potential legal sanction. Well, the question is, at what point does that lend itself to a crisis of command?

In an army that's already somewhat fractious and divided between, you know, the hardcore crusaders who want to finish the job as far as genocide is concerned. And those whose involvement is probably a bit less zealous and who are more susceptible to a kind of collapse. So it's not all triumph for Israel.

If you'd like to hear the rest of this episode of PTO Extra, then please consider becoming a £5 supporter of this show on Patreon. Go to patreon.com forward slash polltheoryother to sign up.