Posted on 04/17/2004 8:09:52 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie
Three and a half weeks was all Abdel Aziz Rantisi was able to reign as Hamas leader. His successor will meet the same fate, as the defense establishment is determined to carry out its decision to wipe out the Hamas leadership.
While Saturday's suicide bombing did not trigger Rantisi's killing, it did help frame it. But Rantisi's assassination would have been attempted with or without the suicide bombing, defense sources said. No one should be taken by surprise by Rantisi's assassination. Nor should anyone doubt the continued targeting of terrorist group leaders.
Rantisi's assassination is part of the systematic war against Hamas. Defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted that the timing of Rantisi's killing was based solely on operational considerations. They scoffed at the idea it had been timed to any political move, such as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's successful trip to Washington, where US President George W. Bush resoundingly backed Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan, or a Likud Party vote on the plan.
The only timing that is pressuring the defense establishment is the clock counting down to withdrawal from Gaza. Now that the plan seems to be getting skin and bones, a recent meeting by top security heads discussed turning up the pressure on Hamas to prevent it from benefiting from an Israeli pullout.
"If someone wants to carry out a disengagement then they have to hurry and hit as many of the Hamas leaders as we can since, afterwards, it'll be more difficult," said Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ya'akov Amidror, a former head of IDF intelligence assessment.
"After we get out of Gaza – if that happens – it'll be more difficult to get intelligence. Remember, we are talking about striking a vehicle at night inside a city. This shows a very accurate level of intelligence and [operational] execution," Amidror said.
Potential successors to Rantisi understand that there is a new reality facing their leadership and that Yassin's killing was not just a one-time affair. The strike on Saturday night, like the pinpoint strike last month against Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, also sends a sobering message to terrorist leaders. Not only did they witness how Rantisi suffered before he died, but they know that every move they make may be watched.
So they will take steps to protect themselves – steps that will force Israel to make morally difficult decisions if it wants to continue knocking off key Hamas men. After all, it is not a simple feat to continuously combine field intelligence with Shin Bet information and translate it to immediate pinpoint strikes.
How many innocent victims (read: human shields) can the IDF kill in order to save the lives of innocent Israelis? That dilemma sets our leadership apart from that of terrorist groups.
Warms my cockles.
Think of Dalson as Hamas, and Arnold as Israel.
His suffering was small compared to the suffering he inflicted on thousands of the wounded civillians.
First order of business: Banzai charge by all Hamas members against IDF positions. Come by my office to pick up your magic pointed stick.
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