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How Israel Can Beat Hamas, With the Help of Private Contractors
The use of private contractors in war has a bad reputation. The risk of developing an expensive dependence on mercenaries, who may be less willing and capable of carrying out certain tasks than regular military personnel, deters decision-makers from outsourcing in war zones. As the United States experienced in Iraq, private contractors have a tendency of ballooning into multi-billion dollar behemoths that are difficult to control and leave questions on moral accountability unanswered. Nonetheless, Israel is facing a strategic and moral dilemma in its war with Hamas that may only be solved through private contractors.
Israel's current approach to the war, fighting Hamas with military force as it keeps the organization alive with no-strings-attached humanitarian aid, has allowed Israel to degrade Hamas to a decentralized guerilla organization without achieving its stated war goals: Destroying Hamas as a military and governing entity and returning the hostages. To achieve its war aims, Israel will need to develop an alternate governing framework to Hamas in Gaza, a move that would directly achieve the war goal of destroying Hamas as a governing entity and severely weaken its ability to wage a successful insurgency. It would also incentivize Hamas to come back to the negotiating table and release the hostages in exchange for concessions…
