Posted on 04/23/2004 4:48:18 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Hours after an Israeli missile claimed the life of Hamas head and co-founder Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the terrorist organization released a statement promising "100 unique retaliations" that would shake "the criminal entity." Senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya told more than 70,000 mourners at Gaza City's largest mosque, "Every time a martyr falls, Hamas is strengthened." But as the kids on the playground would say, Hamas is just talking trash. Amid all the hyperbole about "exploding a volcano of revenge" and whatnot, Hamas refused to name its new leader. They're afraid. "They" is the appropriate term here, not "it," as in "the group," because Hamas' leaders all know their deaths are imminent. Hamas' reticence notwithstanding, media reports were quick to identify the new terrorist leader: Mahmoud Zahar, Rantisi's second in command and the personal physician to the late Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who met the same fate as Rantisi a month ago. Zahar has to know he's next. None of this is particularly good news for terrorist masterminds, but it is great news for more than just Israelis. Young Palestinians should feel safer already. Hamas' hierarchy has been so busy trying to avoid their own deaths that they haven't had nearly as much time to send others to theirs. After all, terrorism is not, and never has been, a grassroots, bottom-up movement. It is a top-down indoctrination industry that relies on brainwashing and a handful of key organizational leaders. The young Palestinians who blow themselves up in the name of martyrdom (and getting their families huge paydays) do nothing more than detonate. The bombs are built for them, and the date and location of the attacks are chosen by the likes of Rantisi -- and, of course, Yasser Arafat. What Israel is attempting is to cut off the head of radical Islamic terrorism. Will this work? It's hard to say what the exact impact will be, but it certainly can't make things any worse, no matter what many so-called experts have predicted. Joel Mowbray is the author of the book "Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Threatens America's Security."
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