The American Spectator

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Palestinian Problems

3.21.08 @ 12:01AM

GOOD DEED, PUNISHED
Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.'s The Gaza Syndrome:

You must always file the Palestinian Peace Talks under: No good deed shall go unpunished. Those people invented the axiom!

However, if the Israelis want real progress, I agree they should employ the Golden Rule. That would get the attention of those ungrateful, nasty people. Just a thought for the serious, religious Jews: I think the time has come for them to stop appeasing the Palestinians and start showing them who has power and who doesn't. Can the situation get worse?
-- Judy Beumler
Louisville, Kentucky

Since I do not have a dog in this hunt I can only speculate what might happen if the IDF decided to forgo the precision and surgical strikes against Hamas and instead went with a much more casual "bomb the snot out of Gaza and let Allah sort them out" policy. Obviously, it would be far cheaper and require far less man power expenditure on the Israelis part, so it does make sense. But the loss of Hamas sympathizers, oh excuse me, "innocent civilians," would lead to much consternation in the Israel hating United Nations and the rest of the corrupt and backwards, think 12th century, Middle East. As long as Israel exists those that blindly follow Islam's teachings will hate it. I'm all for Israel turning Gaza into one big swirling dust storm of shattered concrete and rusting steel where no man dares cross. While their at it why not walk a path of destruction all the way to Tehran.. I'd love to see the look on President Tom's face when he opens the door to the posh Iranian Presidential palace and there is a JDAM equipped thousand pound bomb getting ready to knock.

If so many desire to visit Allah why shouldn't the rest of the world pitch in and help?
-- Mike Coffel
Auburn, Georgia

It's not for nothing that the symbol of Islam is the sword. When Arabs aren't fighting amongst themselves, tribe against tribe, they kill each other over religious beliefs, Sunni vs. Shiite, vs. Druze. But they are always happy to unite and kill the infidel, those being anyone not Muslim. Death is their guiding light, Shahidism their mantra, plunder and pillage their reason d'etre. They produce nothing, not even their own oil.

They've spend 1300+ years pillaging, murdering and raping the subjugated Jew and Christian dwelling among them. Does one really believe they can accept the Jew regaining control of a portion of historical Israel? Islamic and Christian dogma are similar: The Jew has been rejected and replace with others by Allah and God, their Bible superceded by a Koran or New Testament. But the Jew, a fraction of 1% of world population didn't disappear, didn't become a historical footnote; a slight fly in the ointment of subsequent theologies.

Instead of pressing Israel Europeans and American should impose resettlement of Gazan Arabs among the surrounding Arab countries. It's time to dispense with the fiction of palestinians. There aren't any! They magically appeared in 1968: They can magically disappear in 2008. They've had and squandered their chance to live in peace in Gaza. The greenhouses, that produced vegetable so sought after in Europe, that were developed over 30 years and left behind by the Jewish inhabitants, were destroyed within 2 days. TWO DAYS! They spent and misspent BILLIONS in aid with ABSOLTELY NOTHING to show for it. Yet, they are happy to sacrifice their children to the burning maw of the ancient god Moloch. And call it Islamic shahidism.

There's a really simple way to produce peace in Gaza: Cut off all UN, Euro and American aid, water, food and electricity. Let them eat their weapons. In 30 days all will be quiet or all will be dead.
-- Wolf Terner
Fair Lawn, New Jersey

Any Libertarian worth his salt, or even any high school honor student who has read any of Ayn Rand's works can clearly answer this question: what is the difference between selfish behavior and acting in one own enlightened self-interest? R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. shows us that 84% of all Palestinians have no discernable interest in fathoming the question. The majority of Palestinians encourages, or at least tacitly supports, the terror agents in Gaza. As R.E.T. pointed out, the logical and rational position for these same people would be to develop the land, commerce and an attractive tourism trade so they could live with some comfort. The selfish, self-destructive, self-defeating choice is to continue attacking their cousins (as linked through Jacob and Esau). These attacks hurt the Israelis, but they do more damage to the Palestinian people. With each attack they invite retaliation, alienation, condemnation and damnation.

Israel, always the one asked to sacrifice for peace, ceded land for a promise of peace. What they received in return was a continuing flow of martyrs (terrorists) and mortars. Can any Palestinian believe these hostile actions will serve them well? The Palestinians cannot hope to defeat Israel militarily; the Israeli forces will continue to stand up to any who wish to tear down the nation. Even the most dovish Israeli can no longer believe cutting off a hand to feed vultures so the beast will not seek more is a productive strategy. The only way a Palestinian flag will freely unfurl in the region is when Israel feels that its borders and sovereignty are fully secured and respected. Every attack on her soil makes the narrow path to peace narrower. Palestinian terror attacks are self-defeating and ultimately irrational because they destroy their any chance of self-government, not Israel's.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

The very ingrained ideology of hate that permeates the whole Palestinian culture appears as something without hope of ever being resolved by some peace accord. This tiny Israeli nation has endured the wrath of its neighbors for over a half century. The restraint shown by Israel is nothing short of remarkable. During World War II a strategic bombing campaign destroying the entire city would have been a "no-brainer" to quell such persistent attacks. Such devastation is required to break the spirit of fanaticism by demonstrating that their resistance is futile as was the case with Japan during WWII.

As we've seen since Vietnam, a PC war is a costly protracted war, and Israel knows that if she waits too long her enemies will have the means to wreak tremendous death and destruction. And that time is coming soon.
-- John Nelson
Hebron, Connecticut

BEAUTIFUL OIL RIGS
Re: Ben Lerner's Sirens in the Strait:

Excellent analysis.

Letter to the Editor

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