defeat of the palestinians

Submitted by scott rosmarin (United States), May 28, 2002 at 12:20

I read your articles with great interest, and believe I share your positions on most issues. What seems to be missing from the debate, however, are specific strategies to deliver to the Palestinian leadership, and militant Islam, the decisive defeat that will change the psychology that underlies their actions against Israel.
We are told that you can't stop would-be suicide bombers. However, we have a precedent for doing just that, and very effectively.

During World War II there was a large class of suicide bombers that attacked the U. S. for some time, and did much damage. Then they stopped. They stopped because their leaders told them to do so. And this decision resulted from a change in the psychology at the very top of the leadership pyramid. Such change arose because the enemy had been dealt a decisive blow that convinced the leaders that further resistance, including suicide bombing, would be futile.

I'm referring, of course, to the kamikazi fighters. These were prototypical suicide bombers. What stopped them? Finally, our victories in the Pacific, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even after Nagasaki there were thousands of would-be suicide bombers in Japan who would have continued the carnage had the Emperor not called a halt to the War. In short, the top leader was convinced that winning the war was impossible for Japan, and he ordered a stop to the fighting, including the suicide bombers.

I obviously do not advocate the use of nuclear bombs against the Palestinians. However, the psychological principle at work in this case history seems applicable.

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