> > Suicide bombers terrify Israel because it can neither deter nor
> > retaliate against them, unlike those who bomb, kill, and intend to
> > stay alive. Israel punishes the families of suicide bombers by
> > blowing up their houses, etc., but such collective punishment doesn't
> > work as deterrent, nor does it extinguish the sense of elemental
> > terror and provide the satisfaction of sweet revenge.
And I replied:
> "Sweet revenge." Isn't that nice? The Pit must have tingled when typing
> those words. Forget that the tactic of blowing up busses and seders is
> extremely self-destructive to the Palestinian cause -- ask Edward Said,
for
> one -- and concentrate instead, as does the Pit, on the "satisfaction"
> killing Jews brings. A Kahane zealot could do little better when
describing
> the joy of snuffing Arabs.
And upon rereading this, I think the Pit is attributing "sweet revenge" (or the lack thereof) to Israelis, not the Palestinians. If so, then I take back most of the above paragraph, except for the observation that blowing up Israeli civilians is destructive to the Palestinian cause, which it most certainly is.
DP