Oh, Really? You don't threaten a gun with death, either. You threaten the guy who shoots the gun. When Israel finally had enough and went after the organizations that were arming, training, and sending out the bombers, the bombing went down toward zero.
Ummm... you can't compare an inanimate object like a gun to a human being. You are trying to influence a HUMAN BEING. You claim that a threat of force is a deterrent to a HUMAN BEING - we are not talking inanimate objects here. And in fact, a threat of force does NOT always impact a human being. It does not impact a suicide bomber, however much you'd like to deny them their humanity. You may not agree with their methods, but you can't deny the dynamic. And the dynamic is that a person bent on sacrificing their life is not going to be deterred by threatening their life.
What I was pointing out was the dynamic of what causes a human being to sacrifice their life - "defense" does, in which case, threats of force are not effective. Threats ARE effective against human beings when they can be dettered from GAIN, such as an attacker or robber. But he who defends his home, who has nothing else to lose, who is making a last stand cannot be deterred by force. Basic psychology - I'm afraid that failing to understand that would not give you good qualifications for being for example a hostage negotiator. Know what motivates people, know what works WHEN.
Palestinians see themselves in a desperate struggle for existence. Israelis have been pushing them against the wall. That breeds countless human beings who are willing to blow themselves up - nothing deterrs them.
"Going after organizations", will only disrupt the process, not the MOTIVATION. The suicide bomber has NOT been deterred. You simply prevented him getting his hands on a bomb, logistics and the like. You have not affected his will. The organizations are not the real problem, for they don't need to recruit - they have a steady stream of volunteers. You can destroy the organization, but you cannot destroy the will of those who see themselves as fighting your invasion armies.
And that is a prescription for disaster. For it is only a matter of time, when he WILL get his hands on a weapon. With or without organizations... even assuming you could wipe out every single "organization", which is unrealistic.
Remember this warning. It is ONLY a matter of time, when a single individual will be able to create in a basement lab, a microorganism that will genetically combine 100% mortality with extreme spreadability and dormancy. You can infect a population fully before it explodes in a 100% deadly epidemic. Bullets, raids, tanks, repressions, sattellites, are not effective against it. And you don't even need an organization. A single human being, filled with hate for those who have beaten his mother, killed his brother, stolen his land, exploded his house, that being can accomplish this. And Israel created a generations of those through its insane vicious policies. I'm thinking of an interview with an 11-year-old Palestinian girl, whose dream it was to grow up to study nuclear physics, so she can help build a nuclear bomb to explode in an American city. French girls, and Mexican girls have different dreams. Yet is the Palestinian girl innately evil? She was created by Israel, when she saw her mother killed before her eyes, yet another of countless civilians killed by Israeli soldiers enforcing an occupation, trying to hold on to a stolen land. And there are countless others. She may die before relizing her dream. But one of the countless numbers of "fruits of hate" created by Israel, may tragically fulfill their dream. It is a numbers game - 1000 may fail, but all you need is one to succeed... and modern technology marches on. The U.S. should not abett Israel's insanity and barbarous actions, or we will pay for that down the road. Do not oppress, and "avoid entangling alliances with nations that"... (wonder if you realize what quote I'm referencing). Do not countenance evil, and do not be seen as a partner of evil.
Every repression leads to an escalation. Palestinians will learn to build better bombs. Israel throws tanks against them. They will learn to create their bombs abroad. Israel assasinates their fighters. They will learn to build more terrible weapons (biological, chemical, etc.), out of reach of Israel. The military dynamic is for escalation - it will not stop. Only a settlement will.
I repeat: there is no "hardware" military solution to the problem. You cannot intimidate, wipe out, or enslave those people. You must take away their WILL to do harm. For the ability to destroy is always greater than the one to build. They need a lot less to wreak havoc than you to prevent it. You will NOT stop a determined fighter, anymore than you will stop a determined thief. What you have to do is stop their determination.
How? You won't stop all. But what you must do is to diminish their numbers. Instead of 100,000 Palestian (Arab, Muslim, etc., add all the enemies insanely created by ourselves or by Israel) girls and boys dreaming terrible dreams, try and turn 99,990 of those dreams toward a FRIENDLY dream... just like there are 99,990 British girls and boys dreaming good things. That will still leave you with 10 who are bad or innately evil - that's a fact of life... there will always be criminals. But now, the odds are for you. Because you are not saying: for me to live, 100,000 violent plotters must fail - but only 10. You can surive with those odds. You must turn those societies to work with you - not against you.
And to change hearts, you must stop YOUR injustice.
Israel must stop the vicious occupation, the stealing of land, the oppression of Palestinians. Because Israel will not be able to shoot, rocket and tank their way forever... new forms of terrorism will be created, immune to these primitive tools. I'd rather not wait for that day. I'd rather see the root cause of this conflict removed. Let Israel understand that they are alone in their insanity. The U.S. will support them only if they are no longer victimizing other people. Give back the land. Stop the occupation. Back to pre-67 borders. Injustice, deeply felt, will not stand. |
