loud, clear, and precise: Bravo!
Reader comment on item: Don't deal with terrorists

Submitted by John W. McGinley (United States), Jan 25, 2006 at 12:42

There has been wavering already. If Sharon had not had his stroke there would have been no voting for the Palestinians in East Jerusaelm at all had Hamas been on the ballot. I hope President Bush remains steadfast.

If not WE, America, are in trouble. It will be perceived as a sign of weakness and nothing else by the Islamist terrorists. I remember back when the Oslo debacle was just getting off the ground. The question was raised back then: How can one negotiate with a muderer and terrorist such as Arafat whose ultimate goal is the elimination of Israel?

The so-called "clever" answer given by Amos Oz and other "Peace Now" types was -- given with an air of condecension -- : You don't make peace with your friends, you make peace with your enemies. How utterly delusional as it turned out.

There is of course another solution when you are dealing with enemies such as Arafat, Hamas, Hizbollah and the like: You DEFEAT such enemies. Maybe I read the wrong history books. I don't recall the Allies in World War II speaking of compromises and negotiations with the Axis powers. Unconditional surrender. Yes. The world has changed since then. And the present enemy is more elusive than good-old-fashioned nation-states. But the principle has not changed.

Professor Pipes, please keep up your clear, loud, and precise voice on this matter. A return to the Rabin-Clinton-Barak mentality would be a disaster for both Israel and for America. John W. McGinley

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.