IT NEVER WORKS, EXCEPT WHEN IT DOES :

Costs of Targeting Civilians : In an age when global public opinion is of dramatically increased importance, killing citizens only undermines a nation's force in both the field and the international arena. (CALEB CARR, July 27, 2002, NY Times)

The Israeli government's decision to launch an assassination raid on the Gaza City residence of Sheikh Salah Shehada, leader of the military arm of the Palestinian group Hamas, brought immediate and widespread condemnation not only from Muslims but from Western leaders (including the Bush administration) and even elements of the Israeli government. The reason was not Mr. Shehada's death - he was a senior participant in suicide attacks against Israel - but the fact that the Israeli military and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon understood that the attack in a densely populated neighborhood, at night, would result in many civilian deaths. The raid was nonetheless ordered - and the world received its clearest demonstration yet that the Israeli government is prepared to knowingly inflict substantial civilian casualties in its response to Palestinian suicide attacks.

But the Israeli strike in Gaza has proved terribly self-defeating. The Sharon government is more diplomatically isolated than ever, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two Palestinian groups widely reported to have been considering a trial cessation of attacks against civilians, now say they will step up their assaults. Should more suicide attacks take place, however, they will in turn further undermine the Palestinian cause.

Mr. Carr has gotten this bee in his bonnet and can't seem to get rid of it. But his book on the topic is flawed by terrible inconsistencies and this column makes little sense. One would first of all note that both Israel and Arafat's Palestine are the products of terrorism. The Jews drove the British out of the region with terrorism and the Palestinians got their "Authority", which is a state in all but name, by killing innocent Jews. It is particularly odd then to argue that terror is self-defeating between two entities which owe their existence to it.
Posted by Orrin Judd at July 27, 2002 9:00 AM