Q. A year after Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, how would you assess the ramifications and consequences?

A. Given the limited military, geographic and political nature of last January's Gaza war, the ramifications are surprisingly far-reaching. They cover the extent of deterrence achieved, consequences for future strategies of war-fighting by Israel and others, and of course the international reaction in the realms of war-prevention and diplomacy as well as human rights. And they are a decidedly mixed bag.

By Leonard Fein.

Trying to make sense of Israel's assault on Gaza, which ended exactly a year ago this week, is a daunting challenge. There is no agreement on how many Gazans were killed nor on how many were combatants, how many innocent bystanders. The Israeli authorities claim that 49 women and 89 children were among the killed, but the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem says the accurate numbers are 107 women and 320 children.

A year after the end of the Gaza War, Americans for Peace Now is reflecting on what Operation Cast Lead left behind.

• Where does it end?
• The Gaza war one year later: strategic lessons learned

We, Americans who believe that only through peace could Israel achieve true security, are grieving the victims of this war and of the hostilities that preceded it, on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border.

As we near the 1-year anniversary of the end of the Gaza War, the Gaza Strip remains under siege, with Israel allowing very little - in terms of either goods or people - to enter or exit the area.  Last week, in an appearance on the Charlie Rose show, Middle East Special Envoy George Mitchell said that he thought Israel would have be better off if it opens the crossings (and thus lifts or seriously alleviates the siege).  

This is not the first time senior US government officials have argued that Israel should lift the siege.  Indeed, almost exactly a year ago President Obama made the same argument - and made it several times since - only to be ignored by Israel.