This Ongoing War: A Blog: 17-Jun-07: Plain words about games

Sunday, June 17, 2007

17-Jun-07: Plain words about games

Israel's Nobel Prize-winning game theory specialist, Prof. Israel (Robert) Aumann, has a voice that needs to be heard by circles much wider than those who hear him today. His common sense and logic, his love of Israel, and his plain-spokenness are all exemplary. Every additional word is superfluous. Listen.

See to our needs first
There is no leadership crisis, but rather a crisis among the people
Prof. Israel Aumann

The question is not whether to enter the Gaza Strip or not. Before discussing Gaza we must first enter Israel and mend the deep crises created among the people.

What is happening today in the Gaza Strip is the direct result of Israel's failed and defeatist policies over the past 15 years. Since my opinion has been sought, I say that this is a policy destined to bring about the demise of the State of Israel. It's not just the policies. It's also the defeatist state of mind. All day long people are screaming "Peace, peace, and gestures, gestures!" Concessions and disengagements were made and settlers expelled. All this has ultimately achieved the opposite result.

We have to stop the empty slogans such as "Peace is made with enemies and not with friends." In order to achieve peace we must first and foremost be prepared for war. We have to change this state of mind at the core. It wasn't only the Romans who said that those who seek peace should prepare for war. Even game theory, for which I received the Nobel Prize, says so. We have to be emotionally prepared to bear and to inflict casualties – and not to scream "peace, peace," all day long. Only if we are prepared to kill and be killed – we shall not be killed. This is the paradox of war.

We have to extract ourselves from the bubble in which we are living and to understand that we are under a great existential threat.

I hear the arguments saying that everything stems from a leadership crisis. There is no leadership crisis - the crisis is entirely among the people. We elected our leadership knowing full well who these leaders are and what they are capable of. We elected this leadership six months after the expulsion from Gush Katif – and thus we endorsed the expulsion with our own hands. So don't say there is a leadership crisis, the crisis is entirely among the people.

Prof. Israel Aumann is an economics Nobel Prize laureate

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