SSP Diaries | The far side of darkness

THE THIRD week of September 2024, for Israel, Lebanon and Syria, is already history. The world awoke to new dimensions in fighting wars. The Israelis, in a brilliant demonstration of new thinking, took the Gaza conflict into the ‘bodies and souls’ of Hezbollah. They detonated personal pagers and other electronic devices on the person of alleged Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and Syria, killing many, injuring hundreds, and disrupting the communications network of the terrorist organisation.

Undoubtedly a triumph of Israeli intelligence and ingenuity, this may well go down in history as one of the most daring and brilliant military operations. Hezbollah naturally panicked, and in a costly move, convened a meeting of their leadership to quickly rebound. The move was not grounded in logic, Israel anticipated it and reportedly attacked the location, killing those involved. The world has moved beyond simple detonation of cell phones, for example, to mass detonations at the press of a button.

While the Israeli prowess and success resonates in our minds, we need to pause and look at the implications of this act of extreme violence; because that is what it amounts to. The infiltration of Hezbollah’s supply lines is indeed a master stroke, and the successful execution of the act signalled the complete achievement of their mission, one in which they took no casualties. There is no better way to fight a war, I would imagine. You inflict maximum damage and drive fear into the hearts of many without firing a shot or taking any casualties! One for the textbooks. As luck would have it, this act of violence will undoubtedly set off several similar or improved actions across the globe; they are likely to be repeated by both legitimate and illegitimate state actors going forward.

To be more precise, the world’s supply chains of varying types of commodities have suddenly become ‘weaponised’. They will become the subject of a means to the destruction of a real or perceived enemy. Think of the motor vehicle industry, other transportation modes, pharmaceuticals, food, electronics, stationery supplies, alcoholic beverages, detergents, furniture, shoes, writing implements, clothing, toiletries, etc, having their supply chains infiltrated for weaponisation soon.

The world has already been subjected to the infamous ‘shoe bomber’, and the use of sophisticated poisons to get rid of the so-called enemies of certain states. Whereas one has become used to the latter incidents because of the ‘secret world of spies’ or the dangers of being termed a dissident, the Israeli action against Hezbollah presents a new and even more dangerous trend. It signifies a means of mass eradication that can be done simultaneously across numerous locations or states. It displays a definite lack of care or concern for collateral damage, and worst of all, an immunity from justice for such acts, and this could easily be termed terrorism. The reality is that the Israeli action, for all its ingenuity, has triggered a possible avalanche of similar acts which could put the world into a type of ‘darkness’ never experienced before. The classical case of ‘for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction’.

There is now a willingness for some states in conflict to do away with accepted protocols in dealing with issues and seek their desired status, using any means available to them. When one thinks further, one realises that short of deploying a limited nuclear strike to deal with the enemy, the weaponisation of supply chains provides not only as devastating an option, but also one that could be found more palatable, especially if you are supported by the USA. On the other hand, this type of weaponisation leads to manufacturers taking additional safety precautions to ensure the safe delivery of products to the market. Such costs will be passed on to the consumer, fuelling inflationary economic conditions, driving civil unrest, especially in developing states.

The fear of being subjected to an incident of this nature is real, and such acts have no defined borders. Darker days are ahead. Persons are not restricted in their movements, the originator chooses the target that delivers the means of destruction, but has no way of knowing the environment in which the mission will be executed, nor the level of damage that will ensue. In fact, the Israelis obviously had no concern for the target’s surroundings or location, and, therefore, no concern for the innocent lives that were lost in most cases. This is the display of a nation that operates with impunity, the surety that there will be no repercussions, and the surety that their justice is the only justice in the current conflict. Israel is out of control, and the world seems to be on its way to the proverbial Hades.