TIT FOR TAT

TIT FOR TAT: Shockingly, Palestinian terrorists (“fighters” according to WaPo) have fired rockets into an Israeli civilian community in retaliation for Israel having killed a Hamas terrorist leader. Fortunately–and rather amazingly–only one fatality resulted. Israel will almost certainly respond in kind, although presumably they will target terrorists rather than innocents.

Alas, as noted in my Comments convo with Ryan in relation to an earlier post, the Israelis will likely show so little restraint as to make this distinction lost. Unfortunately, the Sharon government is so thuggish that it becomes hard to hold them in much higher regard than the terrorists they fight. Not only are they remarkably inept from a PR standpoint, morally callous to killing innocents, but they are in the worst position possible from a policy standpoint. You can either declare all-out war on the Palestinians or you can negotiate with Arafat and Company. Doing neither is just stupid.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.