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Raymond J. de Souza: Welcome to the new world of David and Goliath warfare

Aerial projectiles are proving superior to sheer might

The Iranian regime’s wartime propaganda leans into the story of David and Goliath, which appears in the Qur’an as well as the Hebrew scriptures. It would be foolish to take theological lessons from a regime that has so lethally perverted authentic religion, but the story of David and Goliath has not only religious significance.

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Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2013 book David and Goliath, looks at the battlefield encounter not as a tale of divine assistance granted to the tiny faithful against worldly giants, but rather as an account of changing martial techniques.

Raymond J. de Souza: Welcome to the new world of David and Goliath warfare Back to video

If David had gone into hand-to-hand combat with the Philistine giant and prevailed, it would be a story of how God chooses the weak to confound the strong. But Goliath never laid a hand on David, for David never got close enough to permit that. Projectile warfare from a distance proved superior to sheer size and strength in close quarters. David, with his slingshot and stones, was actually the more powerful one at a distance. He prevailed........

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