It wasn’t the first time anyone noticed. We had a less formal meeting while attempting to chart a reasonable course through currently troubled waters. Context of conflict was confused. The sudden incursion by Hamas into southern Israel was unexpected, which naturally led to speculation that there was more to the story.

That would be a succinct summary for a lot of current affairs.

Wait, we meant the “Friday the Thirteenth!” thing. What is happening this morning is not suspected to be paranormal in nature, or at least it is not blamed for it directly. On the flatscreen in the Headquarters Suit at Socotra House, the U.S. Secretary of Defense is waiting to make some remarks following those of the Israeli Defense Minister.

Secretary Austin is expressing his support and solidarity. “Everybody knows everybody in the times of strife!” was one of the lines in his anecdote emphasizing the strength of family, commitment and love.

We assume the SECDEF is there to help put the seal of approval on what is going to happen next. There had been aspersions cast on some of the decision-making made over the last seven days. As the secretary spoke, he reminded us that not only his Department of Defense but the entire United States will stand with Israel, at something he called “The Speed of War.”

We are not quite sure what that amounts to, but concede it sounds fast. We have noticed the messaging is important in this latest conflict. It always is, of course, but the changing nature of warfare itself has rendered it the ‘exclamation point’ in the quiver of vital weapons. We are torn by previous experience. On the flatscreen, a correspondent named Keith Yingst has been the face of breaking news since the attacks began at 6:30 last Saturday morning.

There have been mutterings about failures on the part of Israeli and American intelligence. We have always had great respect for the manner in which the Israeli Defense Forces have defended their border. Trey is traveling at the moment, reporting from the right-hand seat of a late-model sedan. He did the numbers this morning. The Israelis are reporting twelve or thirteen hundred dead. The U.S. State department folks are saying the number of Americans killed in the attack is nearing thirty.

Those are the two numbers we have followed with primary interest. But his hours on the job reflect how these wars development. We saw a number from yesterday that claimed he had been working for 63 of the first 73 hours of combat. He has been working to his ability keep his eyes open since.

It is interesting to see how the reporters who cover these international events come to symbolize them just with their increasingly familiar faces. We assume the famous Iraqi who served as “Baghdad Bob” for Saddam managed to have a career when that fight was done. Other numbers this morning? Sure! Trey reports the IDF has directed a million Gaza Strip residents to get out of Gaza. Most reporting has thus far pegged the population of the Gaza Strip as about 2.5 million.

So, we have some numbers. If nearly half the population of a place is directed to abandon it, there will be consequences. We don’t have to add the words “terrible” to amplify the painful reality of that phrase. From his car driving north into the West Bank, Trey contributes some thoughts on what is to come. There are video clips from Yemen demonstrating support for Hamas. Heck, there are clips from Harvard demonstrating the same thing. Trey Yingst will continue to do his best to keep us apprised on the conduct of this war and the consequences.

We have the suspicion he might not be getting the full dimensions of ‘context’ and ‘cnsequences’ across though. And perfectly understandable.

Copyright 2023 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com