Free Republic

Listening to US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, they seem to be determined not to be midwives to a new terrorist state. The road map is supposed to prevent such a state from coming about. Yet there is no escaping that the cease-fire that Israel is expected to accept will result in such a state, or the ultimate continuation of the war to eradicate the nascent Palestinian "unity government" of terror. The "initiative," as last night's internal Palestinian agreement among the terrorist groups now attacking Israel is called, is not really a cease-fire, but a set...

The behavior of the United States since the end of the war in Iraq proves one has to know how to win a war not only on the battlefield but also politically and psychologically. This is a problem that is generally typical of Israel's wars because we are experts in victory on the battlefield and defeat in every other possible arena. In this, it turns out, we are not that different from the Americans. Three Middle-Eastern arenas illustrate the US's problematic policy in the aftermath of the war in Iraq. First, the approach toward Syria. Colin Powell went to Damascus...

Is it acceptable for country, the US fighting terrorism, to smile to a terrorist leader who: 1. Denies the Holocaust 2. Took part in terrorist activities such as planning the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre 3. Co-founded with Arafat the PLO which has been reponsible for thousands of Israeli deaths and over 60 American deaths 4. Supports the destruction of our friend Israel 5. Heads the PA who oversees the PA-controlled media which made racist comments about Rice just a few days ago 6. During the Oslo Accords that failed, he was deputy of Arafat all along 7. Met with the...

This week, US Sen. Arlen Specter submitted a troubling request to the US Justice Department. Specter asked that the US attorney-general request that Israel extradite convicted Hamas terrorist Hassan Salameh to stand trial in the US for the murder of three US citizens. Salameh was one of the commanders of Hamas at the time of his arrest in 1996. He was sentenced to some 50 consecutive life terms in prison for his direct involvement in the murder by suicide bombings and shooting attacks of scores of Israelis from 1994-1996. Given the steep sentence, why would Specter seek his extradition? Perhaps...

Education, Culture, and Sports Minister Limor Livnat intends to propose freezing implementation of US President George W. Bush's diplomatic road map until the Palestinian Authority begins fulfilling its commitments. According to Livnat's proposal, which she intends to present at next week's cabinet meeting, Israel will not freeze settlement expansion, dismantle approved outposts, release Palestinian prisoners, or transfer funds to the PA until the Palestinians act to completely eradicate terrorism, violence, and incitement. "Thirty Israelis have lost their lives since the Aqaba summit and yet incitement has not stopped, the Palestinians have done nothing to dismantle terrorist organizations, nor have they...