Israel's leaders got it right

It is still too soon to write a conclusive summary of Operation Protective Edge (which was, actually, a war). The fighting could still be renewed, especially if Khaled Mashaal, who was pushed aside by fellow Hamas leaders due to his opposition to a cease-fire, regains control of the terrorist group.

But,if a number of assumptions hold true -- the cease-fire lasts; Egypt does not allow weaponry to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing and does not pressure Israel to open other avenues that would enable Hamas to arm itself; the Palestinian Authority regains a role in managing Gaza; Israel shows greater willingness for a peace process that includes a temporary construction freeze outside the settlement blocs; and the seeds of internal conflict within Hamas blossom -- then this war will have been a definite success story, even if numerous difficulties were left behind in its wake.

A U.S. congresswoman who opposed America's entry into World War I in 1917 said, "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." Nevertheless, the situation is clear.

It is all well and good that IDF officers and soldiers in the field wanted to push on. But the top IDF brass had to take a broader view. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz (who, in my opinion, was backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon) presented a gloomy picture for a potential takeover of the entire Gaza Strip -- hundreds of Israeli deaths, billions of dollars spent, and a five-year occupation of Gaza.

What do people want from the IDF chief? To be dishonest? To ignore the bitter truth waiting at the end of the dark tunnel and instead just sing battle hymns as the troops march forward? What more could Israel have achieved in Operation Protective Edge than it already did-

The only thing Israel gave up was the chance to plant a blue and white flag on the Hamas headquarters in Gaza and expel Hamas abroad, from where Hamas would have continued its battle against Israel, as Yasser Arafat did. This would not have been worth the price.

In Operation Protective Edge, Gaza was struck harder than Beirut's Dahiya neighborhood was during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. No Hamas leader, from company commander on up, has a home left standing. The Iron Dome defense system protected Israel from incoming rockets. The tunnels were destroyed. (Although on this issue there was a fundamental failure, which requires a separate discussion. A miracle averted a major disaster. As religious soldiers would say, "God's salvation comes in the blink of an eye.") Hamas lost much weaponry that it will never regain. It will not be able to import cement for new tunnel construction. Hamas arrived in Cairo battered and beaten, with a divided leadership.

Netanyahu and Ya'alon did not spew fire and brimstone during the operation. They stuck to limited military objectives and kept an eye on the diplomatic big picture. As Carl von Clausewitz said, "War is the continuation of politics by other means." In Clausewitz's world, events happened one after another. Today, in the iPhone and Facebook age, events happen at the same time. Every cease-fire proposal that Israel accepted and Hamas rejected gave Israel a few more important hours of international support. But in the end, the world returned to its customary practice of supporting terror.

The debate will go on, but the Israeli government accomplished more than it promised. Also, top IDF brass did not interfere with the government's freedom to decide, although IDF leaders did responsibly point out the pros and cons of the various options facing the government.

"And the land was quiet." Who knows for how long-

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