[Raj_Copi_Jin]

farmall

I tried to open your link but it bombed out... nevertheless, I will put in my two bits because I have been thinking about this issue for some time.

Like most people, I beleive that war is bad (very bad) but unfortunately it's a reality for human beings. One form of warfare is terrorism and it's a highly effective one at that, especially when it's conducted against foreign armies. In fact, I don't know of too many instances where the terrorists/guerillas/ were not the eventual victors. This is especially true when they fight against armies whose society is on the whole humane and values human life. The terrorists/guerillas tend to use and abuse the limits and the constraints under which those armies tend to operate. Their job is even easier when they fight against democracies where there is freedom of information and freedom of the press. They win not by defeating the armies, they rarely if ever do that. They win by sapping the morale of the parent societies of the armies. They win:

• By attrition, killing one or two soldiers a week ….
• They create an atmosphere of doom and gloom by killing and maiming people randomly
• Because they are allowed to fight by their own rules which state: “Heads they win, tails, the army loses!" In other words, if they kill some soldiers and civilians, they win but if the soldiers kill too many people, some terrorists some collateral damage, then they and their press buddies make it look as if only innocents die, so the army loses.

In most instances, after several years of such chaos, it seems to be easier for most societies to just throw their hands up helplessly and declare “we have had enough”, “we haven’t got the stomach for this”, “Life’s too short…we have no business here….lets get out’a here…”. That’s what happened to the US in Vietnam and that’s what seems to be happening in Iraq…..The terrorists know this, they play on it and they are patient….

Of course, the situation in places like Israel is somewhat different. It’s different because the declared objectives of the terrorists is so intransigent that Israeli society doesn’t have the option of just giving up…..After all, giving up would mean the destruction of their whole society, there is nowhere to retreat. Unlike the American army, Israelis can’t just pack their bags and go home because the terrorists are in hot pursuit. They continue to kill Israelis whether the Israeli army stays in Gaza or whether it gets out of there…It’s a situation that is frustrating for both sides because neither side can win and neither side has any hope of winning, even though the terrorists don’t seem to understand why their methods are not working in Israel, when they are so effective elsewhere….