Putting aside the fact that the IGRC as an organised military doesn’t need to resort to insurgent tactics in a country they control:
If that was the case and liberating the populace from the IRGC was the objective, then the correct solution would be operations on the ground. Provide humanitarian aid to the civilians and make a clear effort to keep them out of the line of fire to win their support, and they’re much more likely to rat out the guy in the basement and help you stage a hostage rescue operation. Familiar faces and voices help get the children out of harm’s way and leave the fighter exposed.
If he starts killing hostages, that will help your cause of painting the enemy as the bad guy and also still be less destructive than bombing the children yourself and galvanising the survivors into resistance. Besides, if he’s in the basement, bombing the above-ground building likely won’t even kill him. You’ll get all the downsides of the approach and not even achieve your objective.
There are now decades of experience to look back on and understand that this approach doesn’t work if you want to dismantle a regime or quell insurgency. No, this is quite blatantly not about military objectives.
Bonus pencil for every Guardian of the Revolution (pardon my poor English) hidden in the school basements to use the kids as meat shields!
Putting aside the fact that the IGRC as an organised military doesn’t need to resort to insurgent tactics in a country they control:
If that was the case and liberating the populace from the IRGC was the objective, then the correct solution would be operations on the ground. Provide humanitarian aid to the civilians and make a clear effort to keep them out of the line of fire to win their support, and they’re much more likely to rat out the guy in the basement and help you stage a hostage rescue operation. Familiar faces and voices help get the children out of harm’s way and leave the fighter exposed.
If he starts killing hostages, that will help your cause of painting the enemy as the bad guy and also still be less destructive than bombing the children yourself and galvanising the survivors into resistance. Besides, if he’s in the basement, bombing the above-ground building likely won’t even kill him. You’ll get all the downsides of the approach and not even achieve your objective.
There are now decades of experience to look back on and understand that this approach doesn’t work if you want to dismantle a regime or quell insurgency. No, this is quite blatantly not about military objectives.
The cruelty is the point.