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A Price of Fighting Terrorism

[Washington Post] David Bernstein - Wars, as we all know, are now fought on TV and are subject to far greater - and quicker - scrutiny than ever. The tendency to support war and then recoil from its consequences is very modern and very human - but it is also a major handicap against an Islamic extremist enemy that is all too aware of our weaknesses. If we are going to effectively fight the fascism of our time, we'd better face up to the sad fact that even the most just wars and justly fought wars cause civilian casualties. The West will have to fight against an enemy that hides missiles in family homes and cynically exploits the inevitable results. It will occasionally have to take military action that it knows in advance will cause civilian casualties, even as it tries to minimize those casualties. And when those casualties do occur, it will have to place blame where it belongs - on the extremists and their supporters - and then go on with the war. The writer is Washington director of the American Jewish Committee.
2006-08-11 01:00:00
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