Terrorism, timed to kill

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/9/02 | Editor

[Homer_J_Simpson]

These terrorists are not motivated just by hate and hopelessness. They have a clear motive -- to destroy not just human lives, but the cause of peace. Hamas, the radical Islamic group that claimed credit for the attack, wants to destroy the attempts to resume negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must be careful not to do just what the terrorists want -- overreact.

Yeah. Don't alarm the Arab street. Let's stick to group hugs and appeasement. That usually works.

Israel's offensive last month into the West Bank...was highly counterproductive. Whatever advantage it gained -- militants arrested, terrorist networks destroyed -- was outweighed by the humanitarian and diplomatic cost...

You mean it saved Israeli lives and made the French pout?

An offensive in the Gaza Strip, a tightly-packed warren where 1.2 million people live, would be a bloodbath,

No need to wait for the actual event to start the hue and cry over the IDF "massacre."

and any attempt to arrest Arafat could result in his death -- thus elevating him to martyrdom and inflaming the Arab world.

Avoid inflaming the Arabs, at all costs!

[swarthyguy]

What about the Arabs inflaming us?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Oh, the Arabs inflame everybody. It's a cultural thing. We can't expect them to live by our standards, can we? That wouldn't be fair.