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defeat of the palestinians

Reader comment on item: [Is Israel] Winning by retreating?

Submitted by scott rosmarin (United States), May 28, 2002 at 12:20

I read your articles with great interest, and believe I share your positions on most issues. What seems to be missing from the debate, however, are specific strategies to deliver to the Palestinian leadership, and militant Islam, the decisive defeat that will change the psychology that underlies their actions against Israel.
We are told that you can't stop would-be suicide bombers. However, we have a precedent for doing just that, and very effectively.

During World War II there was a large class of suicide bombers that attacked the U. S. for some time, and did much damage. Then they stopped. They stopped because their leaders told them to do so. And this decision resulted from a change in the psychology at the very top of the leadership pyramid. Such change arose because the enemy had been dealt a decisive blow that convinced the leaders that further resistance, including suicide bombing, would be futile.

I'm referring, of course, to the kamikazi fighters. These were prototypical suicide bombers. What stopped them? Finally, our victories in the Pacific, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even after Nagasaki there were thousands of would-be suicide bombers in Japan who would have continued the carnage had the Emperor not called a halt to the War. In short, the top leader was convinced that winning the war was impossible for Japan, and he ordered a stop to the fighting, including the suicide bombers.

I obviously do not advocate the use of nuclear bombs against the Palestinians. However, the psychological principle at work in this case history seems applicable.
Submitting....

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Reader comments (25) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
USA's foriegn policy in denial (and irrelevant?) [374 words]Shep FargotsteinNov 12, 2002 12:213778
2defeat of the palestinians [259 words]scott rosmarinMay 28, 2002 12:20498
1Response to Juan Cienaguas "Israel's Mistake is the Settlements" [1084 words]Mike NargizianMay 27, 2002 17:32489
Response to: Your Bias is Showing [229 words]"An American-Israeli"May 27, 2002 05:32486
Response to Two Other Comments [163 words]William J. SturmMay 26, 2002 23:51484
Why Is There Only One Form of Bias? [169 words]John BucknerMay 26, 2002 22:48482
The Peril of Appeasement [126 words]B KostynuikMay 26, 2002 20:42481
1How to End Rejectionism [493 words]Gary BlackMay 24, 2002 17:47477
Other Land for Peace Failures [18 words]Shep FargotsteinMay 24, 2002 12:53476
Peace Will Never Come With Arafat [151 words]Neal BishopMay 23, 2002 20:21475
it's life not economy... [109 words]Doody KaminskieMay 23, 2002 15:01472
Israel's Mistake is the Settlements [56 words]Juan CienaguasMay 23, 2002 14:32471
Syria's Fear of Nuclear Response [103 words]Paul JonesMay 23, 2002 12:27470
No Condition Exists for Peace [195 words]Glenn KlotzMay 23, 2002 09:10468
Waiting for the Next Attack [171 words]Jeff BercovitchMay 23, 2002 08:46467
Your Bias is Showing [50 words]Muhammad SiddiquiMay 23, 2002 00:44464
Logical Common Sense [40 words]Henry GottesmanMay 22, 2002 23:01461
Teaching the Saudis [354 words]Janet GodfreyMay 22, 2002 16:10456
Who Will Indict the UN for Aiding & Abetting Terror? [80 words]Ben ShniperMay 22, 2002 16:00455
Israel's Options [297 words]Ken PlattMay 22, 2002 13:45452
Tel Aviv is a Settlement! [17 words]Paul FinbergMay 22, 2002 10:51447
Right Again! [10 words]William J. SturmMay 22, 2002 10:07444
A Voice in the Wilderness [126 words]Mildred MallekMay 22, 2002 08:57441
The West Never Learns [57 words]Michael RifkinMay 22, 2002 08:15440
Achieving Calm [75 words]Allen MinitzerMay 22, 2002 07:53439

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