What Iraq and Gaza Have in Common

The war in Gaza reminds me of the war in Iraq. When President George W. Bush invaded Iraq, the whole world watched as his marauding troops, using state-of-the art weaponry tore the country to pieces.

Instead of the paradise Bush promised the Iraqis, there have been rivers of innocent blood that is still flowing five years after the invasion.

The removal of the Saddam Hussein's dictatorship has not brought the Iraqi people the blessings and peace Bush had promised. Instead, they are now under the reign of terror of multiple dictatorships.

The whole world is aware of the suffering of the Iraqi people, the killing of children, bombing of cities, towns and villages, displacement of millions, nonetheless those with power to have influenced or changed the course of events have been merely playing the role of onlookers.

Who will hold Bush and his lieutenants accountable for what happened to the Iraqis? When you have the power to intervene to alleviate human suffering and you do not, you are an accomplice.

Israel's war in Gaza is no different. It started with lofty aims but will end in strategic failure as Bush's war in Iraq. Has not this been the fate of almost all wars waged against other nations regardless of the glossy slogans their leaders raise such as liberation, obliteration of terror, preservation of peace and security, introducing democracy, etc?

Israel's war target, no matter what ceiling its leaders are going to put for it, will fail to subdue Gaza, the world's most densely populated strip of land.

Israel's claim of occupying areas where rockets are launched against its settlements is fragile and shallow.

Rocket launching pads today are mobile and can be launched from different places and areas.

But one thing the war in Gaza has in common with Iraq. While women, children are being killed, homes destroyed and people made homeless, the governments with power to put an end to these atrocities are playing the role of onlookers in the case of a very grave humanitarian situation and untold suffering.