100,000 lives

Submitted by Yuval Brandstetter MD (Israel), Aug 23, 2006 at 15:25

I fear professor Pipes is generally in the ball-park concerning the estimate of the number of casualties needed to effect a fundamental change fr wide-open democracy to a self-preserving democracy .

In the fight against terror 2000-2005 Israel lost about 1500 lives, before limited action was authorised. That is 1500 out of a Jewish population of 5 million. Since the USA boasts 60 fold larger population, the US number is likely to be 100, 000 dead.

Now, that is the threshold for limited action, not for true abrogation of the risk, which entails the exclusion of those from whose ranks come 95% of all murderous attacks. That number is far larger. The figure of 6000,000,000 comes to mind as the number needed to induce the free world to take some serious action. The ongoing impotence vis-a-vis Shiite Islamist Persia seems to suggest the free world is willing to condone the same price yet again, especially since the likely victims are the very same as the last time.

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