Posted 9/17/2003 08:47:00 AM by Ocean Guy
Suicide Bombers as stategic weapons

Hat Tip to lgf: Anyone observing the campaign of terror the Arabs have waged against Israel, will know that suicide bombings are not random acts of crazed lunatics.

One of Pape's most important findings is that suicide terrorism is guided by clearly identifiable strategic goals. It is not a mere act of wanton cruelty, though it is certainly that. Nor is it an act of desperation by the dispossessed. Rather, suicide -attacks are nearly always carefully calibrated to accomplish the political goals of nationalists groups. Of the 188 suicide-terrorist strikes from 1980 to 2001, a whopping 95 percent were undertaken as part of an organized political campaign; that is, only 9 of the 188 attacks were unplanned.

This finding is certainly important but is it really a surprise?

For almost a century Arab Rulers in the region have manipulated and mistreated the people they rule for their own purposes. For 55 years the collective Arab leadership has manipulated and mistreated their palestinian brothers in their own selfish interest. Arafat and his thugs have manipulated and abused their subjects and have brainwashed them to the point that mothers gladly sacrifice their own children for the chance to kill a few Jews, even a single Jew. Arab mothers hate Jews more than they love their own children. Arafat, Abdullah, et al are thrilled to have it that way.

In such an atmosphere of hate it’s easy for Hamas and Fatah and al Aqsa martyrs to recruit their next weapons.

The sad thing is that we have continually demonstrated to the terrorists that their tactic works. The more Jews they kill the more concessions come from Israel. The more Jews that are killed the more the US pressures Israel to appease the terrorists. That pattern has been just as clear as the pattern that reveals their strategy of terror… But things are beginning to change.

September 11 instantly changed a lot of minds in the US . In articles like his Robert Pape is bringing light to our mistakes in dealing with the terrorists. The failure of Oslo changed a lot of minds in Israel. America’s successes in Afghanistan and Iraq have caused some changes in terror’s tactics. Tactically, we’ve changed and have caused some change in the terrorists M.O.

The most obvious change has been the attacks inside Saudi Arabia. The terrorists have bitten the hand that feeds them and are beginning to pay a price for it. Arafat has been confused by the change in American policy after 9-11, and his PA is in complete disarray. If not for the left in the west, he’d be gone altogether. (Whether or not that is a good thing is a topic for another post) But things are changing in the world of terror. As freedom gets a toe hold in Iraq, Syria and Jordan are beginning to feel the pressure. The terrorists are truly on the run. They are being forced to alter their tactics.

All that leads me to believe that we will begin to see many more suicidal murders. AS Arafat and the Arabs detect the tide changing, they’ll rely more on what has worked for them in the past… more terror. We in the US and too many in Israel are just beginning to stir for action. The tide may be turning but it’ll be a while before we really see significant change. Meanwhile, Arafat and his cronies will likely pick up the pace of terror killings. It breaks my heart to think of all the lives that will be wasted and ruined while we figure out that we’ve been handling things badly.

We have to realize that the Arabs have terrorized their own people to foment the hatred against the Jews. And the options are limited in how to combat that. There is the decapitation route ala` Iraq, or there is the more brutal method of convincing the Arabs to fear us more than they fear Arafat. It seems Israel has tried the latter, but they are unable to be more brutal than Arafat so it doesn’t work.

So , what’s left? What action is right? Convince me that it is wrong to decapitate the PLO and it’s web of subordinate terror cell leaders. At what point does Arafat’s brutality and threat to his neighbors rise to the level of demanding action? How many more must die while we search for other ways to appease him? If, to paraphrase Adam Wilson, we are not going to deny their ends. If we are going to continue to dangle the carrot of a second palestinian state in front of their noses, then our only hope for peace is to work with a different set of Arab leaders. Arafat and his thugs will not step aside willingly.

The options are ugly, but the price of inaction keeps rising. How many more must die? As Golda Meir said, "We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us." Until we get rid of those who foment that hatred, until WE change our attitudes, there will be no peace.