The WaPo notes that Israel is winning the Terror War:
Israel Blunts Uprising's Impact
Military Actions Slow Suicide Bombers but Take Toll on Palestinian Civilians
By John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, October 5, 2004; Page A22
JERUSALEM -- After four years of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, Israel has established dominance on the battlefield, sharply reduced loss of life among its soldiers and civilians, and advanced its own agenda for the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the absence of negotiations to bring peace, according to officials and analysts from both sides.
In a pivotal shift in the conflict, Israel has crippled the effectiveness of the Palestinian militants' primary strategic weapon -- the suicide bomber -- with frequent military operations in the Palestinian territories, assassinations of dozens of militant leaders, improved intelligence, and construction of a massive barrier through and around the West Bank. At the same time, however, Israel's reliance on military options also has killed Palestinian civilians and inflicted hardships on Palestinian communities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6984-2004Oct4.html
I find the second paragraph's "however" a little peculiar. In effect they are saying "Israel is winning the war; however, they are hurting their enemies." Isn't that implied by a war? Only Israel is supposed to be able to fight a war with surgical precision against the militants alone, harming no civilians nor imposing any hardships on the communities. This against terrorists who use kids as shields and ambulances as bomb delivery vehicles, etc. Israel is not supposed to rely on military options, or only if they can achieve 100% precision.
The converse of this sentiment, that the Palestinian choice of the suicide bombers as their tactical weapon has hurt civilians and imposed hardships on whole communities, never seems to appear in the same manner. |
