You Can’t Bomb Ideology: Lessons from Gaza and Afghanistan

After months of relentless bombardment, the near-total destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, and the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, Israel, despite its overwhelming military advantage and the full backing of the United States, has failed to achieve its declared goals: the elimination of Hamas and the safe return of all hostages.

Gaza stands today not as a subdued territory, but as a stark reminder of a bitter truth: you cannot destroy an ideology with bombs, bullets, and blockades.

I strongly oppose militancy in all its forms, anywhere and under any circumstances. Violence cannot be justified as a means to achieve rights, settle grievances, or impose beliefs. While understanding the roots of militancy is essential for policy and analysis, armed struggle only perpetuates cycles of destruction, undermines justice, and inflicts suffering on innocent people. Real solutions must come through dialogue, inclusion, education, and institution-building, not through guns or bombs

Afghanistan learned this lesson long before Gaza’s present ordeal. Under the grand title of the “War on Terror,” large parts of Afghanistan were turned into theatres of high-tech destruction by US and NATO forces. Villages were flattened by airstrikes, homes stormed in the dead of night, and civilians detained, tortured, and humiliated. Entire communities were displaced. Weddings, funerals, and marketplaces became targets of “mistaken identity” or “collateral damage.” These were not isolated errors, they became part of a system that prioritised force over justice, shock over reconciliation.

Yet after two decades of such methods, the promised peace remained elusive. Following the shameful withdrawal of foreign forces, those once branded as terrorists — whose government had been forcefully dismantled — regained control. Militancy did not vanish; it adapted, evolved, and in many ways emerged more resilient than before.

Yet after two decades of such methods, the promised peace remained elusive. Following the shameful withdrawal of foreign forces, those once branded as terrorists — whose government had been forcefully dismantled — regained control. Militancy did not vanish; it adapted, evolved, and in many ways emerged more resilient than before.

Whether in Gaza or Afghanistan, the pattern is hauntingly similar: overwhelming firepower unleashed without addressing the roots of the conflict. In both cases, armed resistance draws its strength not merely from weapons, but from deep and long-standing grievances, political exclusion, loss of dignity, displacement, and the memory of injustice passed down through generations.

Military campaigns can kill fighters and destroy infrastructure, but they cannot erase an idea born from lived experience and collective suffering. Gaza’s reality shows that even with advanced technology, precise intelligence, and international latitude, an entrenched movement cannot be bombed into non-existence. Afghanistan’s reality shows that night raids, aerial bombardments, and arbitrary detentions only deepen the wounds that sustain the very militancy such operations seek to crush.

Militancy in Afghanistan has long ceased to be a mere law-and-order issue. It has become a complex combination of ideology, historical grievances, and socio-political exclusion. While acts of violence must be firmly condemned, their persistence reflects not only the determination of extremists but also the failures of policy and governance.

Bombs can scatter fighters, but they do not dismantle the narrative that fuels them. That requires a counter-ideology rooted in justice, inclusion, and moral clarity, none of which were the pillars of most counterinsurgency strategies.

Justice means more than punishing fighters; it means holding those who committed abuses accountable, whether they wore uniforms or not. Inclusion means allowing local communities to shape their own future rather than having one imposed at gunpoint. Moral clarity means recognising that human dignity is not a concession from the state, but a right that outlasts any military campaign.
Without these, the vacuum left by military withdrawal will always be filled by those offering an alternative, no matter how destructive that alternative may be.

Though their histories and contexts differ, Gaza and Afghanistan share three undeniable truths. First, collective punishment of entire populations fuels the very resistance it seeks to break. Second, armed movements sustained by belief, identity, and grievance cannot be defeated by technology alone. Third, military supremacy without political justice is an illusion, one that crumbles over time.

In both cases, the pursuit of victory through force has produced cycles of destruction and retribution. For every militant killed, others rise, often more radical, more experienced, and more determined than before. For every demolished home, a story of injustice is born, retold, and carried forward.

Real peace is not the silence that follows a bombing campaign, it is the trust that grows when injustice is addressed. That requires replacing fear with dialogue, coercion with dignity, and surveillance with genuine service to the people.

Armed men can be subdued temporarily, but generations raised with unanswered questions about injustice cannot be silenced by force. The battlefield is no longer just in the mountains of Afghanistan or the streets of Gaza; it is in the minds of the people.

Until that battlefield is engaged with fairness, empathy, and the courage to confront past wrongs, the cycle of violence, in Afghanistan, in Gaza, or anywhere else, will not end. It will simply wait for its next spark.

Misdiagnosing Terror: When the Cure Became the Disease

Support Dawat Media Center

If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Dawat Media Center from as little as $/€10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you
DNB Bank AC # 0530 2294668
Account for international payments: NO15 0530 2294 668
Vipps: #557320

  Donate Here