RE: Anti terror war-Isrealis style.

There are many schools of thought on how to deal with terrorists.

Taking out the leaders is certainly one of them. But even the most gung-ho must admit it is only one of the tools at the disposal of the authorities.

Engaging in hearts and minds operations is another option. The British did this to great success during the Malaya Emergency, when SAS troops visited villages and managed to get the locals on-side against Communist Terrorists (CT’s). That probably succeeded for 2 reasons – (1) the locals were simple tribal people and (2) the SAS are pretty much the cream of soldiers and as far as I can glean are not given to racism or anything to turn people against them. But it’s worth a try in other situations, surely? Showing the population that you are trying to be the good guy can only help. Blowing buildings up is absolutely not helpful, whatever the provocation. If people – Palestinians – think Israel valuaes their lives, then they might start to see through the propaganda given time.

Engaging in political process is another. If people genuinely think they can change things through the ballot box they are much less likely to tolerate terrorism. Bouncing around ideas, even impossibly impractical ones, gets people thinking. Why not publish an Israeli gov’t white paper on merging the states of Israel and Palestine into a Jewish/Muslim conglomerate? It will never happen, but will display willingness to sue for peace.

An Israel positioning itself as independent, open minded and willing to deal with problems through words will be the start. Muslims might demand less US influence on Israel. Why not? Who knows what good might develop if the two sides change their mindset.

Anyway, just random thoughts.