Horror of War Doesn’t Remove Its Necessity

If I may be so indulged, I would like to journey deep into the Cave of the Abundantly Obvious and return in possession of a time-tested truth that, apparently, needs a timely reiteration: that, in every conceivable circumstance, war is horrible, but that, in some circumstances, it is necessary nevertheless.

I mention this because I have come increasingly to suspect that the most vocal critics of Israel’s conduct since the abomination of October 7 are unable to get past the first proposition. Push the average Palestinian-flag-wearing campus protester to explain the cause of his present vexation, and, once you have got past the ersatz hierarchies and inscrutable ideologies that inform his worldview, you will be told indignantly that Israel is engaged in a “genocide” — a term that, as far as I can detect, is being used incorrectly as a synonym for “death, destruction, and tragedy.” Or, to roll all that into one term: that is being used incorrectly as a synonym for “war.”

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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If I may be so indulged, I would like to journey deep into the Cave of the Abundantly Obvious and return in possession of a time-tested truth that, apparently, needs a timely reiteration: that, in every conceivable circumstance, war is horrible, but that, in some circumstances, it is necessary nevertheless.

I mention this because I have come increasingly to suspect that the most vocal critics of Israel’s conduct since the abomination of October 7 are unable to get past the first proposition. Push the average Palestinian-flag-wearing campus protester to explain the cause of his present vexation, and, once you have got past the ersatz hierarchies and inscrutable ideologies that inform his worldview, you will be told indignantly that Israel is engaged in a “genocide” — a term that, as far as I can detect, is being used incorrectly as a synonym for “death, destruction, and tragedy.” Or, to roll all that into one term: that is being used incorrectly as a synonym for “war.”