how to inflict a sense of defeat?
Reader comment on item: "[Symposium] On the Strip: Where To Go from Gaza?"

Submitted by Shepard Barbash (United States), Jun 30, 2006 at 14:17

Many of us fear that the Palestinians' hatred of us is so pervasive and runs so deep that the only way to 'inflict a sense of defeat' on that stubborn, wrecked population would be to kill many many more of them than the 'international community' (and we ourselves) could possibly stomach--UNLESS they inflict an unprecedented slaughter (eg. destroy Tel Aviv) on us, by which time it would be too late.

How do we get around this dilemma?

---

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.

Daniel Pipes replies:

A sense of defeat, of not being able to continue to pursue one's war goals, can result from much less than mass slaughter. It requires great intelligence, in both senses of the word, not brutality.