How to end Islamic violence

Submitted by Ken Besig (Israel), Jan 7, 2003 at 21:42

I hope that you are right and the Islamic violence here is truly being reduced as a result of the Islamcists reaching the conclusion that violence against Israel is neither effective nor does this violence serve even their own interests.
The actual presence of the Israeli Army in Palestinian towns and other hotbeds of Islamic terrorism is probably the determining factor, however. And the the decimation by "targeted killing" by Israeli security forces of terrorist leaders has reduced these killers efficiency and popularity thus decreasing at best temporarily the terrorists cowardly murder of innocent Israelis, rather than a shift in "public opinion" on the part of the Islamicists and their supporters towards violence as a strategy.
What is needed is a military blow so hard and so sustained that even the leadership of the Islamicists will be fearful of ever attacking ANYONE ever again. And the only blow that I can see working like that would be the deliberate killing of Yassir Arafat and the top leadership of the PLO. And that at once, with no apologies or regrets by the Israeli Armed Forces.

---

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 and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".