(Commentary) Michael J. Totten - Hamas senior military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was a terrorist commander on a mission to acquire Iranian weapons for use against civilians. He was a combatant. Unlike his victims, he was fair game. In Dubai, he was taken out quietly without harming any of the civilians around him. If only Israel could fight all its battles this way. It would be the cleanest and least-deadly war in the history of warfare. It's always better to take out a high-level target in person whenever possible than with a blockbuster bomb from a distance. I can't help but wonder if those griping about the recent hit in Dubai care less about the lives of real human beings than the latest excuse to bash Israel. If the Arab-Israeli conflict will continue - and it will continue - civilians on both sides should prefer that combatants be taken off the board quietly while everyone else goes about their daily business in peace.
2010-02-24 07:51:42Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive