Monday, November 9, 2009

The Difference Between War & Terrorism

Here's part of a comment I received concerning my post on Palestinians tearing down a portion of the Israeli security fence today:

Israel can argue the wall is security against terrorism, but the terrorism is only a result of an oppressive situation they created. They fight terrorism with terrorism (e.g., the Gaze (sic) invasion).

This statement begs so many questions.

Is this reader telling me that the Palestinians were practitioners of Gandhian non-violence prior to the erection of the security fence?

Is the reader unaware of the rampant suicide bombings caused as result of people entering Israel from Gaza and the West Bank?

Is the reader unaware how Palestinian educational, religious, political and media institutions encouraged this behavior?

How would the reader have suggested Israel address this problem if building a security fence is a bad idea?

With regard to Israel's defensive military operations in Gaza, is the reader unaware of the rocket attacks being launched into Israel from Gaza despite the fact all the settlements had long ago been evacuated?

Is the reader unaware these attacks are eminating from a place whose government's primary objective is the destruction of the State of Israel?

Does the reader believe Israel does not have the right to protect itself from these wanton attacks?

Finally, is the reader unable to understand the difference between war and terrorism?

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