Posted on 03/31/2002 5:51:54 PM PST by Colorado Doug
87% Palestinians support martyrdom operations
Nablus- An opinion poll organized by the press department at the Najah University in Nablus yesterday revealed that majority of the Palestinian people supported martyrdom operations against Zionist occupiers.
The poll that included 327 persons from various affiliations pointed out that 87.4% of them supported continuation of Palestinian martyrdom operations.
72.4% even supported expansion of those operations to cover all areas within the Zionist entity and not only in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
The poll showed that 64% also backed martyrdom operations launched by women commandos.
Another 79.5% expressed belief that the only solution to the conflict with the Zionist entity was continuation of resistance and intifada.
The poll displayed Palestinian pessimism towards future of the Middle East conflict and the American role as 64.5% objected to American envoy Anthony Zinni’s demands while 62% said that the Saudi initiative did not serve as a suitable foundation for setting the Palestine cause.
You are right in that I know nothing of the kind of war where teenagers are encouraged by their clerics to commit suicide in an effort to kill as many Jews as possible in the process. It is these clerics who encourage the suicide bombers by indoctrinating them with hatred and promising them that, not only will they be rewarded in paradise, but the sins of their families will be forgiven as well. Add that to the promise of the $10,000 reward given to families who have born too many children to support, and you end up with an endless supply of willing participants. It is appalling that many, not all, of these families applaud their child's sacrifice.
What I am suggesting is to take away the incentive of suicidal bombings by promising that the families will never reap such an ill-gotten bounty. And further, the hell to all Islamists, that the youngest in their families would be subjected to Judaism teachings.
I fail to see why my suggestion is something you think I should go hide my head in the sand about, when nothing else the Israelis have tried have thwarted the suicidal bombings.
This would free them to focus on snipers and car bombs.
You are so right and your words bring to mind the most painful imagery, but that does not mean we should stoop to their level. Kill the ones responsible for 9-11 along with those who supported it and would do further harm if not stopped. Allow a war-time reasonable amount of collateral damage, wherein innocent civilians are killed.
But capture an entire family, including infants, and put a bullet through their head? Sorry, but as much as I hate our enemy, I have not yet become like them.
Hmm? How about tryin' this headline on for size?.....
Americans Support 87% of Palestinians Being Annihilated
what say ye 13% that are undecided?
Hoo Ha! That'll be the day. Any Moslem state is 'powerful' only to the extent they are patronized and propped up by Western powers. Where is their heavy industry? Where are their techology sectors located? Where do they buy 100% of their military hardware?
Not to worry, my friend.
Sorry, but as much as I hate our enemy, I have not yet become like them.
I do not wish to become like the animals that attacked us. However, unless we start to speak a language they understand, we can expect more of the same. More innocents will be killed because we lack the vision and the courage to make the tough decisions that will end suicide bombings.
Truman knew that his atom bombs would kill tens of thousands of innocent Japanese. His decision to kill those people saved the lives of at least one million US servicemen, and the anguish of many times that at home, and saved many million innocent Japanese civilians who would have died in the US invasion.
The same can be said for Arabs. Kill some now, so we don't have to kill millions later. Kill some of their innocent so some of ours may live. Those are the types of decisions you need to make when you make war. Sitting back and being very British about the whole thing only prolongs the problem and is worse than action.
I have to admit that I am somwhat borderline on this issue of whether to kill entire families of suicide bombers or imprison them (or if they can't find them, make them fugitives -- who still will not benifit from the $10,000 reward).
Children being killed by collateral damage is an unfortunate, but acceptable part of war when bombs are dropped. It is a different matter for a troop to move in to a household and methodically kill every single member, including infants. World opinion of Israel is bad enough now, but the outrage of such an inhumane act -- however justified -- would destroy the image that Israel is only targeting those who are attempting to annihilate them.
It is no different than our treatment of the prisoners at Gitmo (?). We have no doubt that any prisoners they might take (as in Pearl), will likely be tortured or murdered, yet we have not stooped to their level of inhumanity. And our treatment of our prisoners has nothing to do with the bleeding heart observers who attempt to cry foul at every turn. We will observe the strictures of the Geneva convention in spite of the fact that our enemies will not do the same.
In my view, the same would apply to the families of suicide bombers. Especially if imprisoning them might achieve the same results as murdering them.
We have not yet become like our enemy.
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