Posted on 05/07/2002 3:08:17 PM PDT by Axion
New Suicide Bombing in Israel Undercuts Sharon At least 15 people were killed and some 60 injured May 7 in an explosion in the city of Rishon Letzion, 15 miles southwest of Tel Aviv, The Associated Press reported, quoting Israeli public officials. As of late afternoon CST, reports were still unclear, but initial accounts indicate the explosion occurred at a night club or pool hall in the industrial part of the city around 11p.m. local time. Israeli police confirmed that the explosion involved a suicide bombing, and Hamas claimed responsibility.
7 May 2002
The incident was the first suicide bombing since April 15. The recurrence of suicide attacks will call into question Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's security strategy -- which has mainly involved invasions and destruction of Palestinian areas and massive arrests in efforts to intimidate and disrupt suicide bombing networks. It also will undermine the position of the prime minister, who is visiting Washington in an effort to convince the Bush administration to aid his efforts to marginalize Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The suicide bombing is the first since the end of the Israeli military offensive in the West Bank. Because of the difficulties of reaching it from the West Bank or Gaza Strip, attacks in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas are rare -- in fact, the last suicide bombing in the area took place in June 2001, when 21 people were killed at a beachside nightclub. In this case, the location likely was chosen as a poignant illustration that Israeli strategies for filtering potential threats have failed and that the Palestinian suicide network has not been dismantled.
It reinforces the fact that he must be aggressive and destroy the terrorists that are attacking him.
This is like saying Sept. 11th undercuts our National Security policies.
Time for the Palistinian CLOSE OUT SALE now at a Nuke Store near you!
GRRRRRRRRollin'
I really don't think it does, but I would guess that Stratfor's unstated argument is that Sharon was given room by the U.S. to supress the terror attacks by force and this attack proves that he failed. IMHO Sharon's problem was not that force doesn't work, but that the force was too little and too incomplete. Also, the pressure that the diplomats brought to bear to abort Israel's counteroffensive merely encouraged new terrorist attacks by assuring that terrorism against Israel has no adverse consequences.The next move should be the scenario described by Martin Van Creveld in the UK Telegraph on April 28.
If I were Bush, I would be spending most of my time talking about this issue with Sharon, and not a whole lot of time about Arafat, and going through the motions of useless negotiations where there is absolutely nothing really to negotiate about. JMO.
There is a carefully calculated bet going on, by the palis-musli-arabs. Up to now, they can rely on the "humanity" of Israel, to not kill a sufficient number of enemy, to make the enemy cease and submit.
But it seems no matter how "humane" Israel behaves, they are still accused of misdeeds. If the ONLY way to stop the enemy from attacking is to KILL the enemy, I ask how long can one expect the Israelis to discriminate the enemy into categories.
When will Israel make a Truman-like calculation, as the US once did?
OTOH, he could be lulling the wolves...
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