Jerusalem Cloakroom #135

Soul Searching - Erev Yom Kippur

by Yoram Ettinger
yoramtex@netvision.net.il

October 5, 2003

Tonight, Sunday evening, Jews will conduct soul-searching citing Yom Kippur prayers, such as: “For transgressions which we’ve committed...” The following reflections refer to transgressions committed – while battling terrorism – in moral ambiguity, in moral equivalence, in cycling of violence, in restrain, in war of low-intensity, in negotiating with terrorists, in ignoring track record of terrorists, in tolerating hate-education:

1. Nineteen Israelis murdered (proportionally equal to 950 Americans!) and sixty Israelis injured (3,000 Americans) by another PLO/PA/Hamas-harbored, trained, equipped, incited Palestinian homicide bomber.
    

2. Homicide bombing, nurtured by the Palestinian Authority, is a product of the systematic and intense campaign of anti-Jewish, anti-American hate education, perpetrated – since 1993 – by the education, media and clergy systems controlled by Arafat, as well as by Abu-Ala, Abu-Mazen, Nabil Sha`ath, Jibril Rajoub, Muhammed Dahlan, Saeb Erakat and other darlings of Foggy Bottom, the National Security Council and the CIA. Hate education reflects, most authentically, the strategic goal of the PA/PLO, notwithstanding verbal condemnations and moderate rhetoric showered upon gullible Western and Israeli policymakers and journalists.
    

3. Soul searching following 10 years of unprecedented Palestinian terrorism. Hopefully, a thorough soul-searching is conducted by the Dep’t of State, the National Security Council & the CIA, which have Double-Standardized Israel, pressuring Jerusalem: “Do as I say in the ivory towers of diplomacy; Don’t do as I do in the battle fields of Panama, Afghanistan and Iraq!” They have pressured Israel against the adaptation of the legitimate, moral and strategically-effective US counter-terrorist tactic: a non-compromising, comprehensive-sweeping-swift-traumatic campaign of destruction. They have urged Israel to stick to complaining and condemning, rather than destroying, terrorism. They’ve ignored the fact that wars on terrorism aren’t won at the UN and in the courts.
    

4. Security of own citizens should be the top priority, in defiance of any pressure. During 1948-1992 all Israeli Prime Ministers placed the security of their citizens at the top of their order of priorities, regardless of external pressure and irrespective of economic and political cost. No gov’t should expect a free lunch! Ben Gurion wouldn’t have declared independence in 1948, if he would’ve been deterred by the brutal threats of military and economic sanctions enunciated by the Dep’t of State, the CIA and the Pentagon. Eshkol wouldn’t have launched the pre-emptive Six Day War, if he would’ve been dissuaded by Administration’s intimidation (“should you act alone, you shall remain alone!”). Begin wouldn’t have destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, if he would’ve been intimidated by Administration’s threats (implemented by a painful military embargo and severe diplomatic sanctions). It took Israel six days to demolish the infrastructure of Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967. It should take Israel 2-3 days – through an all out war – to demolish the infrastructure of Palestinian terrorism. The PA/PLO/Hamas should be dealt with brutally, while the Palestinian population should be approached with magnanimity.
    

5. End to the failed restrained and low-intensity war on terrorism. The obvious lesson of the last 10 years – since the signing of the Oslo Accord, which included the importation into Israel of Israel’s most vicious enemy, the PLO: A low intensity war on terrorism erodes the economy, the faith and confidence in the capability of beleaguered democracies to defeat terrorism, while constituting The Wet Dream of terrorists. Low intensity war on terrorism has severely eroded the personal security, and limited the freedom of movement, of Israelis, which has been a major victory to terrorism. It is clear (as it should have been to any responsible gov’t 10 years ago) that the tactics of the last 10 years have failed to prevent the murder of 1,400 Israelis (proportionally equal to 70,000 Americans!). It is incumbent to depart sharply from the failed tactics, and adopt the tactic deployed by any gov’t (e.g. the USA), which is serious about the eradication of terrorism. Accordingly, an enemy, which is beyond deterrence and containment, has to be devastated traumatically, in order to minimize future terrorism. Israel’s new counter-terrorism tactic should be offensive (rather than defensive), preventive (rather than deterring/retaliatory), comprehensive (rather than surgical/local), eradication of the political, financial, ideological infrastructure which produces suicide bombers and feeds the fire of terrorism (rather than concluding another cease fire), decisively bringing the enemy to submission (rather than negotiating with the enemy). Restraint in face of terrorism has bred more violence, and has deterred moderate Palestinian elements. Sustaining the current tactics would result in a terrorist wave, which would dwarf the current one and the Sept. 11 tragedy. Draining the entire swamp, rather than employing spray and other means at home, is the effective way to fight mosquitoes.
    

6. Moral clarity – rather than ambiguity – a prerequisite to victory on the battle field and to a realistically tenacious policy. The last 10 YEARS ( and in fact the last 40 years) have exposed the PA/PLO as the core of the problem and the most vile enemy of Israel, with no ground for compromise. The PA/PLO hasn’t acted against terrorism, because it has been the core of Palestinian terrorism. The US Administration has always referred to the Taliban and the Saddam regimes as terrorists, liars, cancerous elements, rather than “governments”, “presidents”, “national security advisors”, etc. Israel and the US should adopt such moral clarity when it comes to the PLO/PA – the role model of international and Islamic terrorism.
    

7. Deporting/eliminating Arafat, alone, will not solve the problem. Palestinian terrorism has been a systemic, rather than a personal, problem. Destruction of Palestinian terrorism requires the destruction of the entire infrastructure/system, and especially – as demonstrated by the US in Afghanistan and Iraq – the political, financial and ideological infrastructure. Abu Ala`, Abu Mazen, Nabil Sha`ath have been members of Arafat’s inner circle since the late 1950s. Their elimination from Gaza, Judea and Samaria, along with 60,000 other terrorists, imported from Tunisia, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Jordan, constitutes a prerequisite to the resolution of the problem.
    

8. No negotiation with the PA/PLO. Aiming at another agreement with the PA/PLO, reflects ignorance of the 40 year track record of the PLO/PA, as the role model of inter-Arab terrorism, treachery, back-stabbing, corruption and oppression. Why would any gov’t contemplate the negotiation of another agreement with a regime, which has violently violated all previous agreements?! Why should any gov’t, dedicated to war on terrorism, co-exist/negotiate with terrorists?! Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me!”
    

9. The (de)fence state of mind – a false and wasteful sense of security. Erecting a fence would re-entrench the failed tactics of the last 10 years, reinforcing defense, deterrence and retaliation. A fence reflects fear and indecisiveness, thus energizing terrorists. No fence would stop a determined terrorist (a 300 feet deep tunnels, accommodating arms carrying vehicles, are currently dug from Sinai to Gaza). The complicated topography of the long boundaries of Judea and Samaria – contrary to flat and short boundaries of Gaza – would render a fence an ineffective barrier, unless Israel were to station back-to-back soldiers along the route (which is an demographic impossibility for Israel). Ten simultaneous penetrations would cause a collapse of the entire network! A fence could be mildly effective if there were an effective buffer zone (5-10 miles) between the fence and the Israelis who are targeted by terrorists. However, the geography of the country is such that there would be a few hundred meters between the fence and potentially targeted civilians. If constructed, the multi-billion shekel fence – which would be helpless also vs. rockets, missiles, heavy machine guns and snipers – would become The Mother of All White Elephants.
    

10. American financial support to Palestinian NGOs boosts terrorism. Annual US foreign aid to the PLO was launched, in 1994, in an attempt to moderate the PA/PLO and to enhance peaceful co-existence. Aid has been extended to Palestinian NGOs, with the gullible contention that it wouldn’t be controlled by Arafat. The merit of such a contention – by Foggy Bottom – would be equal to the contention that US foreign aid to Iraqi NGOs – during Saddam’s regime – wouldn’t be controlled by Saddam.
     

11. A Palestinian state west of the Jordan River – a reward and a boost to terrorism, a threat to American interest. PLO semi-independence in Jordan and Lebanon exacerbated international terrorism. PLO expulsion from Jordan and Lebanon reduced terrorism. Establishing the Palestinian Authority (through the Oslo Accord, Wye Agreement, Aqaba Agreement, etc.) has produced the most horrific ever wave of Palestinian terrorism. Based on PLO/PA’s track record, the establishment of a Palestinian State would further escalate Palestinian terrorism. It would deal a death blow to the pro-US Hashemite regime in Jordan, it would add an ally to the terrorist regimes in Iran, Syria, Libya and Sudan, it would constitute the largest terrorist base in the world at a time when the US aims at destroying terrorist states, it would facilitate Russian re-entry into the Mideast, it would serve as a friendly platform for China and No. Korea and it would constitute the most corrupt regime in the highly corrupt Arab Mideast.
     

12. A Palestinian state – the elimination of the Jewish state. An examination of the last 10 years, and an analysis of the last 1,300 years of inter-Muslim Mideast incessant violent violation of agreements, unpredictability, treachery, instability and shifting alliances, shed light on the indispensability of Judea & Samaria to Israel’s survival. Judea & Samaria consists of an eastern mountain ridge, a 3,000 feet steep slope over the Jordan Valley, which constitutes one of the most effective tank barriers in the world. Judea & Samaria’s western mountain ridge, a 2,000 feet moderate slope, overtowers the 9-15 mile wide pre-1967 “waistlines” of Israel (80% of Israel’s population and the nerve center of its industry, science and transportation), constituting a dream scenario for an invading military. The 1991 and 2003 US wars on Iraq have reaffirmed the limits to ballistic technologies and the centrality of ground forces (tanks and infantry) in the occupation of one’s territory. Thousands of tons of bombs and missiles dropped on Iraq (and Afghanistan) would not bring Saddam and the Taliban to submission. In fact, some 70% of the bombing missed their targets. It was the presence of the tanks and infantry in the streets of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, which determined the fate of Saddam’s regime to oblivion. The more critical are the ground forces, the more significant are the ground barriers. Relinquishing control over Judea & Samaria, in the most belligerent, unpredictable and treacherous region in the world, would doom Israel’s future to oblivion.