The IDF fired two senior officers and reprimanded a top commander as it admitted a catalog of failures in a a drone strike on an aid convoy in Gaza, including that it killed aid workers who had survived an initial attack.
While I don’t trust much of anything Israel’s government says, if true this reminds me of how the Imperial Japanese military often operated. Junior officers were so confident they had the correct interpretation of the emperor’s will that they would go ahead and do what they thought best rather than doing what they were told. Idealogical fundamentalism is a cancer
I literally was talking to a friend comparing Israels crimes to Imperial Japan. This is the message I sent her yesterday:
I read somewhere that the reason this incident happened is because commanders in the chain have absolutely no oversight, and they essentially do whatever they want with no repercussions. So while there was an order given in the middle level of command, it wasn’t given by a higher level command. At the same time, they are not reprimanded, and if anything, there is probably a culture of tacit encouragement. This has echoes to the Rape of Nanking by Imperial Japan, when Japan was asked to explain themselves they said the generals didn’t give the orders but rather they ‘lost control of the troops’. So while there is not a bureaucracy making explicit decisions at the highest level of authority to commit these atrocities, there seems to be an unwritten rule that the IDF follows, very similar to the crimes against humanity carried out by Imperial Japan.
Also learned about this from Dan Carlin. It is worth noting that Dan is a journalist, not a historian. He drifts into the realm of bad history sometimes but his podcasts are entertaining and he uses a lot of primary source material to back up his assertions.
While I don’t trust much of anything Israel’s government says, if true this reminds me of how the Imperial Japanese military often operated. Junior officers were so confident they had the correct interpretation of the emperor’s will that they would go ahead and do what they thought best rather than doing what they were told. Idealogical fundamentalism is a cancer
The emperor screaming “they are Amalek” and “we are fighting human animals” and “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza”
Seems like the IDF is exactly following orders
I literally was talking to a friend comparing Israels crimes to Imperial Japan. This is the message I sent her yesterday:
Do you have further reading about this?
Supernova in the East by Dan Carlin. It’s a two part podcast.
Neato, ty ty
Also learned about this from Dan Carlin. It is worth noting that Dan is a journalist, not a historian. He drifts into the realm of bad history sometimes but his podcasts are entertaining and he uses a lot of primary source material to back up his assertions.
Thanks for the headsup.