How America Must Respond To Barbarism

Wall St Journal ^ | February 25, 2002 | FRANK J. GAFFNEY JR.

[SJackson]

At the close of the video documenting Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's barbaric execution, his murderers reportedly announced the lesson they hoped to teach the United States: "Americans shall never be safe on the Muslim land of Pakistan, and if our demands are not met this scene shall be repeated again and again." We must take away from this appalling and violent act an important lesson -- although certainly not the one the Islamist terrorists had in mind.

[daviddennis]

I have as open a mind as anyone, but I'd really love to hear Jimmy Carter give precise examples of "progress made" with North Korea, Iran and Iraq over the last decade or three.

North Korea regularly blackmails us into sending them aid in return for empty promises to stop missile development. Or slow it down. Or something.

Iraq still celebrates the "Mother of all Battles" as a major victory, complete with a $400 million mosque designed as a monument to its successes.

I don't know that much about Iran, but what I've heard recently is not exactly encouraging. And certainly Carter's record on Iran wasn't encouraging, either.

So tell me: What progress? Seems to me we've made more progress by blowing them up. Not that I think this is a wonderful thing or anything, but we can't say that people aren't listening to us a lot more carefully now.

D

[Kakaze]

God rest Danny Pearls soul

With that said I think we must realise we are on the brink of possibly a heirarchial change in ths world.

This is not a "tin foil" alert just a assement of what has to happen.

In order for this war to be won...even faught it must be treated as a civil war......the world of the civilized v.s. the savages. And, no one should doubt our enemy is savage and behind every tree building or in a mountain bunker. I know it has perileils to our own fight for independance....but thats where it ends.

This unfortunately " your with us or against us" means one thing..not an alliance but a world body to exterminate the vermin we are infected with.

I fear victory means a dominating world body.....I just wonder if we can control it!....or if we will loose our rights in the process of victory.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

North Korea still has a storehouse of bones of American war dead, collected from the Korean War. Every time they want something, they agree to repatriate some remains and we're a sucker for this every time...

[Taylor42]

Why should we pay for security training for journalists. They've spent years telling us they're reporters not Americans.

[Phebe]

I agree that reporters who refuse to accept that they are in a war zone, and refuse to accept Army pool coverage, are responsible for their own safety.

But I think the big question is whether Pearl was an American.

He was born in Princeton: but as an adult he did voluntarily register with Israel as an Israeli citizen. This was hidden by the press until after his death, when an Israeli news source broke the story. Apparently his parental family were also dual citizens: they had naturalized here in the '50s but had kept their Israeli citizenship, purposely.

I am very worried about interest groups who do not disavow their allegience to other countries suborning the money and manpower of the United States for the good of their actual "home country." If Daniel Pearl was Israeli, his fate is not the business of the United States. It's the problem of the Wall Street Journal and the State of Israel, and that's all.

The fact that the media hides this dual citizenship and hides that dual citizenship commonly occurs with Israelis and others is very worrying: it says to me Fifth Column, foreign agents.

Phebe