Iron Dome: the public relations weapon
▻http://thebulletin.org/iron-dome-public-relations-weapon7308
So if Iron Dome says little about the state of true missile defense, and if its effectiveness against short-range rockets is at best unclear and likely overstated, why does the system seem to take center stage whenever Hamas and Israel clash? The answer to that question seems to lie in the public relations arena.
As Postol noted in his public radio interview, Hamas rocket attacks are part of an “intended game.” Hamas fires its relatively small, generally inaccurate, and largely ineffective rockets into Israel from Gaza, knowing from past experience that Israel’s response will likely involve air strikes that will, despite the accuracy of Israel’s high-tech weaponry, kill innocent civilians and, Hamas hopes, make Israel seem a callous oppressor in the eyes of the world.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government presents Iron Dome’s performance as part of a sophisticated public relations effort that aims to persuade the broader public that Hamas is a heartless and calculating terrorist organization and Israel’s defense forces are decent, determined, and effective. It’s an effort that includes, for example, idfnadesk, the YouTube page for the Israel Defense Forces, which offers a video titled “Iron Dome Intercepts Rockets Over Ashdod,” among many videos highlighting purported Hamas cruelty and Israeli “pinpoint” and “precision” weapons. To the extent it fills news cycles with reports on Hamas rocket attacks and Iron Dome’s supposed technologically advanced method of intercepting them, this PR effort also deflects attention from the human consequences of Israeli bombing strikes in #Gaza.