Half-measures

Submitted by Joseph Grossman (United States), Jul 22, 2003 at 14:52

Harris' conclusions are absolutely correct. In the most simple terms, these "fantasist" leaders such as Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat and the insane mullahs who rule Iran do what they do because they are allowed to get away with it. If Israel, within the first year after Oslo, had warned Arafat that failure by him to stop launching terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens would result in the incineration of all of the so-called refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people - and then proceeded to actually bomb the camps - the problems would have been solved years ago.

It is high time that the U.S. policymakers realize that the U.S. scores no points with its enemies by "playing by the rules". The people who hate what the U.S. and Israel stand for (and this is what motivates the vast majority of criticism of their actions) are not impressed with restraint or civilized conduct. Those things are interpreted in one way - as signs of weakness. It is precisely this tendency toward restraint and civilized behaviour which is seen as our Achilles' heel.

Unless we send a clear message to our enemies that aggression against us and our allies will result in swift, uncompromising and massive retaliation, this aggression will never stop.

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