(Arizona Republic) Craig Weiss - The accepted worldview is that when fighting terror, one must avoid actions that are liable to enrage the Arab world, however effective and justified those actions might otherwise be. Under this principle, however, Muslim extremists have veto power over any effective counterterrorism policy. A serious look at the numbers shows that Israel's policy of targeted killings has had the effect of decreasing terrorism. Israel began a serious campaign of targeting terrorist leaders in early 2003, resulting in a 50% decrease in the number of Israeli victims of terror as compared with the previous year. Israel's policy has also saved Palestinian lives, as the number of Palestinian dead decreased by 30% over the same period. Without terrorist ringleaders around to send unwitting Palestinian adolescents to murder Israeli civilians, the region will become more peaceful. By catering to the murderous rage of Arab terrorists, we only promote more rage. Arab anger is an internal Arab problem that we cannot tame, and that only they can solve.
2004-04-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive