it would be nice to avoid another Arab-Israeli War
I don't see it happening. Syria won't do it alone, and nobody else is in a position to help much. And why would they risk their forces, when Israel is clearly so much more vulnerable to terrorist attack than to military attack.
I don't know how effective the Israeli response will be. It's a response they've used before. One of the things that irritated me most in the post 9/11 days, and still irritates me now, is how the Israelis were swaggering about proclaiming themselves to be the world's foremost experts on fighting terrorism. It seems to me that after several decades of fighting terrorism, they have more of it than they did when they started. I'm not sure that's the sort of expertise we need.
For my part, I'd like to start a network of boarding schools for Palestinian youth. Really nice ones. Far away from the combat zone. Then we pay the families to send their kids there. If Saddam offers $25,000 for a martyr, we offer $50,000 for a graduate. Guaranteed jobs on graduation. Downpayments on enrollment. They want Islam, give 'em Islam. Round up every Muslim theologian that says terrorism is incompatible with Islam, and make them the teachers. Get the little fuckers off the streets.
For the adults, set up some seaside resorts and let any certified terrorist spend all the time they want there. Hire every hooker in Las Vegas and send them over to service the boys. Sure, they won't be virgins and there won't be 72 of 'em, but the guys won't have to blow themselves up either.
I think it fairly obvious that these suggestions are not entirely serious, but I will say so anyway, in case some do not recognize a tongue in a cheek.
The suggestion about the Gurkhas is serious, and I think it would work. Nepal needs the money, and nobody will think the Gurkhas are agents of Nepalese imperialism. Recruitment is not a problem. The inevitable casualties will not be a political issue: the culture accepts them. I see no reason why a Gurkha force could not be trained up to the same level of competence as US Special Forces. Any number of countries could provide equipment. I think the US should provide transport and air support, just to give ourselves effective veto power over deployments (it is good to be sneaky).
It makes too much sense to ever happen, though. |
