Nadine -
I didn't make up the idea that the vast majority of terrorist acts against Israel were in retaliation for actions Israel had taken. The terrorists themselves have been saying it virtually every time, about nearly every act. Note that I am talking specifically about Israel and the Palestinian conflict.
Way back in 1952, when a family of Jews was murdered in a town near the Jordanian border, an Israeli army unit entered Jordan and wiped out every man, woman and child in it, in the name of revenge. The Israeli government disavowed this act, saying that it had been the work of a rogue unit commander. (The commander was Ariel Sharon, for those of you who don't know this story. Yes, that Ariel Sharon.)
Of course, the Jordanians felt that revenge had to be exacted for the murder of all those Jordanian innocents. And so on. It hasn't stopped yet.
This isn't a matter of my reasoning as much as it is observation, and it doesn't apply to the history of the fascist movements. The fascists mounted armies and invaded other countries. They were using military force, and it made perfect sense to use military force against them.
- Allen
PS: Game Theory, that obscure branch of mathematics John Nash worked in, can be and has been applied to the situation between Israel and the Palestinians, and it predicts that there can never be a winner, nor even an end to the conflict, as long as each side believes that every act by the other side must be avenged. |
