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Have No Fear

You have to wonder. Are world leaders condemning the killing of Yassin because they think Israel had no right to do such a thing, or are they condemning it out of self preservation? I'm sure Hamas is looking at who is crying foul and who is not. Death to those who don't mourn for Yassin and all. So, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Yassin was a murderer of the worst kind; he plotted, he planned and he sent out young men, sometimes boys, to kill - and die - for Hamas. He had the blood of hundreds of Israeli children on his hands. It is Yassin who kept the cycle of violence going, by setting himself up as a spiritual leader and more or less teaching parents to raise their children to murderers. In that view, the death of Yassin cannot be seen as anything but good. One less bastard in the world. [By the way, Matthew Stinson pretty much predicted this in January] But there is always the other side of the coin. What does this mean for the people of Israel? For Jews in general? Will this only spurn more suicide bombings, more death of innoncents? Will the Muslim brotherhood of terrorists take their anger out on the soldiers in Iraq? Those are frightening thoughts. I do believe that in the long run, Hamas will fall without the leadership of its head murderer. However, before it does fall, the people of Israel will pay - probably in great numbers - for the destruction of the inner sanctum of Hamas. So is the strike on Yassin combatting terrorism or adding to it? Are the people of Israel willing to die in order to stop to Arafat and his band of thugs from trying to wipe their country off the face of the earth? One of the first things I did when I heard the news this morning was to check on Allison. At first she was worried. She thought about staying under the covers, keeping the kids home from school. Instead she got up and carried on.
Despite it all, I still head out to meet my friend for coffee, we sit in an outdoor cafe in the sun under some trees and have a late breakfast. It's a beautiful day, the cafe is full. Nothing in the scene would indicate that the "gates of hell" are opened.... Are we all in denial? Are we all crazy? Or are we just doing the sane and logical thing by living our suburban lives?
She's a brave woman. I would have chosen to hide under the bed all day. Over in the West Bank, people are lining up to be volunteers in the suicide bomber brigade. The Mideast reaction to Yassin's death is just fueling the fire of anger. Egypt, Iran, Yemen...everyone is going out of their way to condemn the assisanation and call for Sharon's head. And now the U.S. and some of its allies in the war on terror will condemn the killing of terrorist mastermind Yassin. Yet we actively pursue bin Laden and other al-Qaeda and Iraqi leaders and vow to take them "dead or alive." So how can the leaders who would put a bullet between the eyes of one terrorist condemn the killing of another? Unless, of course, it's out of fear of retaliation. The would be suicide bombers and martyrs will be standing in line for the next few days, waiting to be handed their bomb belts. Their mothers will kiss them, their fathers will praise them and they will go into Israel smiling, as if they were doing God's work. And they will kill themselves in a blaze of supposed glory, going for the gusto by aiming for places packed with women and children. Doesn't anyone see the difference between Israel and the Palestinians? Israel aims for murderers, terrorists. They go out of their way to avoid civilian deaths. But Arafat's people - they hit where it hurts the most. They aim for the innocent, the young. And they revel in those deaths. That's a depraved group of people for whom I feel no pity at all. I look at them I feel disgust. They are not people at all, but monsters wearing the faces of humans. As Banagor said:
That we enjoy and celebrate his death is fine with me. I do not consider it to be anything like the celebration of the deaths of innocents at the hands of suicide bombers, but then again that is exactly what separates my side from theirs. That is the entire reason why we are fighting this war. If somebody doesn't understand this then they should stick their head back in the sand and hope that the danger will pass over their soon-to-be dead body.
People say, let us not rejoice in the death of others. Well, that's a fine sentiment if you're pious and righteous and I claim to be neither of those things. So I will rejoice. I will feel glad that there is one less piece of scum dirtying up the earth. And I will not feel bad if a hundred Palestinian martyrs in training die in the ensuing, inevitable battle. Enough is enough. The Palestinian people would never be happy until every Israeli on the face of the earth is gone, dead. They are all enemies of peace and play a big part in the war on terror that world should be fighting together. Don't you get it? People who raise their children to spill the blood of innocents are our enemies. They are part of the big picture, the whole scenario that makes this world the unstable place it is. Every other peaceful country should grow some balls and admit that Yassin being dead is a good thing. They should stand behind Israel in its fight against these ruthless murderers. But that will not happen because they are afraid, and that fear makes groups like Hamas even stronger. If Allison, in Israel, can go out today and have coffee as if it were an ordinary day and not one in which thousands of people have just vowed to kill everyone in her country, then she is braver than most world leaders. And she has taught me something about myself. We cannot be afraid. We cannot show our fear. Never again will I speak of being so scared of a terrorist attack that I don't want to leave my house. Never again will I cower at the sight of a low flying plane. We need to stand up and look these people in the eye and say, if you come for us, we will come for you. Twice as hard. Have no fear except the fear of what will happen if we sit back and take all the abuse that terrorists like Yassin want to heap upon us. Oh, and don't let those cries of "poor quadrapeligic in a wheelchair" tug at your hearstrings. Since September of 2,000 474 people have been killed in 112 Palestinian homicide bombings. You can bet that Yassin was behind about 98% of those bombings. And to all those protesters over the weekend who burned Israeli flags and marched in support of Palestine - you support a cult of death. You support terrorism masquerading as religion. If they strike at America, they will not care if you are a friend of Palestine or not. You will die with the rest of us. But keep waving that flag. I'm glad he's Yassin is dead. I wish the rest of Hamas the same fate, and soon. [And if this sounds like I am confused, it's because I am. I didn't think this one out, I just wrote]

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» One bastard down from Inoperable Terran
Shiek Ahmed Yassin, one of the top leaders of Hamas, is dead. Nice shootin', boys! UPDATE: Misha has more burgers for IDF and your daily supply of curse words. UPDATE 2: Michele has a nice post as well.... [Read More]

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Here's how crazy this country is, and how big the disconnect can be between what's happening in your life and what's HAPPENING. So, just after dropping the kids at school, posting my last entry, I remember have an appointment to... [Read More]

» Yassin: the aftermath from c0llision.org
Yes, so the 'spiritual leader' and founder of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was indeed killed last night by israeli Apache helicopter when the old fart was leaving his house to go pray for the destruction of Israel at a local... [Read More]

Comments

Doesn't sound confused to me.

The only confusion I see is on the part of the reprobates protesting around here in Northern California. Call me....Grateful (that Yassin is) Dead in California! Keep up the great posts, Michele!

TO me it is very simple. It is the same problem that the USA faced, when do we really fight back against our enemies. Before 911, we treated the terrorists as a mosquito, something to swipe at occasionally but not something to worry about as there were much more important things. After 911, we had the exterminators come in, spray the whole yard, and put us on a maintanance plan. We still may see the occasional mosquito, but they will not be prevelant in our yard.
Israel, with the USA's and international communities urging, tried to negotiate with the Palestinian mosquitos, and all they got was swarming. They realized it is time for them to call in the exterminator. We should give them the number to our guy, and support them to the hilt...

excellent post.

It is still possible for the US to criticize this event, but Condoleeza Rice was on Fox this morning, and she did not condemn it.

It appears to be having the desired effect - Hamas is threatening to take revenge on the US (Don't make us angry....) and Arafat is afraid that he is next. And well he should be.

We're in the same war that we cannot lose. I think that W has said "Damn the torpedoes." He made a speech at Ft. Campbell where he more or less directly threatened Syria and Iran.

I think he doesn't want to leave anything to electoral chance - he wants to get the war finished whether he wins in November or not.

Are world leaders condemning the killing of Yassin because they think Israel had no right to do such a thing, or are they condemning it out of self preservation?

From my (shameless plug) write-up, a quote:

Other EU ministers made similar comments, voicing fears that retaliation by Hamas supporters could spread to Europe.

I think that about sums it up. I am surprised, however, that the British are condemning it.

I have argued about the US's double standard on the War on Terrorism since the bieginning. Israel has a much more legitimate claim for their assaults as they have been suffereing these terrorist attacks for decades.

However, the US government seems to be telling them that the US is the only onle who can attack the terrorists and everyone else should make nice.

BAH! Go get the rat bastards.

I do not for one second doubt that Israel has the right to kill people like Yassin. We argue back in forth in this country about the nature of our 'war' against terrorism, but there's no doubt that Israel and Hamas exist in a literal state of war.

But there is still the question that M. asks here, about whether actions like these help more than they ultimately harm. And the only way to justify the conclusion that it obviously helps more than harm would be to endorse the only couple of sentences here I disagree with: "The Palestinian people would never be happy until every Israeli on the face of the earth is gone, dead. They are all enemies of peace and play a big part in the war on terror that world should be fighting together." I just don't think this is true of the entire Palestinian people, that they are all enemies of peace. The political radicalization of the Palestinians is not a matter of genetics or anything like that, but a predictable reaction to their events & circumstances & above all their perceptions of those events & circumstances as manipulated by such 'leaders' as Yassin. It is far from set in stone that they will be so willing to throw away both Israeli lives and their own, and I still think that there may exist paths to peace.

If you really think that there's just no hope for peace whatsoever, then the right policy doesn't seem to be killing the terrorist leaders one by one as opportunity permits. More leaders will arise, as they always do, and the Palestinians have the population to produce leaders and sickly willing volunteers much more quickly than this policy of selective assassination can put down. So I think there's a serious question here of whether this particular killing is, in the long run, in Israel's own best interests. It might be -- the guy sure was the murderous scum that M. makes him out to be here. But there's (God help us) plenty more where he came from.

Well, let us wait and see if it actually achieves anything positive. Will it reduce the number of attacks by Hamas? Or will it cause new groups, new leaders to rise in his place? Is it another small step towards the ultimate goal of having groups within the middle east live in at least a grudging acceptance of each other?

The conventional wisdom is that targeting individuals in this manner does not address the underlying cause of the conflict. All it does is add more fuel to the fire, by adding yet another "martyr" to be avenged.

Of course, all the "experts" will no doubt pontificate over the coming days and weeks, but the real effect of this attack by the Israelis won't be know for a long time. But that won't stop "experts" from all sides giving us their opinions.

"Will this only spurn more suicide bombings, more death of innoncents? Will the Muslim brotherhood of terrorists take their anger out on the soldiers in Iraq?"

I'm not sure how it could spurn more, after all, they're trying every single day.
I figure at worst it will make choosing the next 'spiritual leader' of Hamas difficult.
Kill them all. They can't be negotiated with, Clinton and Barak proved that, they can't be appeased, pulling out of Lebanon proved that. Their goal is the death of the Jewish state.
They can only be killed until they realize that trying to kill Israelis and Americans is the same as committing suicide. While some want to be suicide bombers, the leaders like the Arafish and Saruman, err, Yassin were blatantly not killing themselves.

They will retaliate, of course, but by doing things they were going to do anyway. They will simply now label it as revenge for Yassin.

Hell, they tried to blow up chemical stores a week or two ago, to cause a huge hazmat conflagration. If they had anything worse they'de have used it already.

"I'm not sure how it could spurn more, after all, they're trying every single day."

Here's how: currently Hamas membership numbers in something like the tens of thousands. There are something like 3 or 4 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, plus over a million in Israel itself. That's a lot of potential more 'spurning'....

Michele,

Bottom line- whether Mr. Hamas was killed or not, Israel will suffer attacks, regardless. So one less bastard in the world on earth and one more bastard in hell.

We hope and pray that by killing the leaders of the cult of death ,that we can avoid killing anymore.Can't quite say the same for the other side,now can we?

Great post. I loved the line about how People who raise their children to spill the blood of innocents are our enemies.. That's the problem, in a nutshell. (The lefties who keep on playing Bruce Cutler to Saddam's Gotti always overlook the fact that he served up big heaping stews of the same hatreds every day).

The Palestinian people deserve the same freedom the rest of us have; nobody deserves to be ruled by gangsters. But should anyone grieve when one of the gangsters gets his due? My initial reaction when I heard this guy's bio was, why on earth didn't they kill him years ago?

Well spoken.

Well, the hate is already growing here in Toronto. In the last week there have been several incidents of anti-semitic vandalism....
just in case anyone thought I felt any safer as Jew, here in Canada.... the answer is: less so with every passing week.

here's a link to info about the vandalism, if you are interested.
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040321-002/page.asp

Very unconfused, I'd say. Clear, like a laser beam.

I'm sure there will be retribution, but this is war. Glad to see your fighting spirit, Michele.

Good riddance. There's all sorts of nonsense going on in Toronto.

Thanks, Michele, for a very eloquent and inspiring Quote of the Day for our blog...

There is only thing you can do if someone takes up as the new head of Hamas...do the exact same thing they did to Yassin and take him out. Trying to appease these people will never work (it has been tried). Israel is surrounded by enemies on three sides and the Med on the fourth. The US needs to untie Sharon's hands and let him deal with these terrorists more decisively, just like they finally did with Yassin. Our so-called "Roadmap to Peace" is nothing but a roadmap to disaster, because the Palestinians are not interested in peace. They are only interested in martyrdom for their cause...the destruction of Israel.

There is only thing you can do if someone takes up as the new head of Hamas...do the exact same thing they did to Yassin and take him out. Trying to appease these people will never work (it has been tried). Israel is surrounded by enemies on three sides and the Med on the fourth. The US needs to untie Sharon's hands and let him deal with these terrorists more decisively, just like they finally did with Yassin. Our so-called "Roadmap to Peace" is nothing but a roadmap to disaster, because the Palestinians are not interested in peace. They are only interested in martyrdom for their cause...the destruction of Israel.

The talking head news shows are still full of people who think that we should be "doing more" to promote the peace process, making the erroneous assumption that there will be peace as long as Israel co-exists with the Palestinians in their present 'destroy Israel' incarnation. I think "doing more" means leaning harder on Israel. As always, the anti-any-conflict-masses try to appeal to the reasonable, sane side in the crisis, because they know that the wacky side will ignore them. That's why there is so much protest against U.S. actions... we might listen. The terrorists certainly won't.

Untie the hands of Israel. They can settle this. The wall is a damn good step, really showing some restraint IMO. In the unlikely event I were in charge, I might be inclined to go into full-bore stomping mode. Not politically expedient, but oh so satisfying to the reptile brain.

I order you to see dissident frogman's Yassin tribute page.

http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/common/kicks/rubberburner.jpg

By the way I'm sure the terrorism would end sooner if the civilized world closed ranks against all terrorists, including one's who usually kill Jews.

Damn the Europeans. Their cowardice puts blood on their hands as well.

Of course they actually fund Arafat with state money, so they have serious blood on their stinking hands.

Now here is a radical suggestion - return the middle east to how it was before 1948.

I order you to see dissident frogman's Yassin tribute page.

You're not the boss of me.

It is a great page, though. ;-)

great post. you don't sound the least bit confused.

Was it on ASV that I answered the Metallica thing the other day? If so, I now understand why so many people named "Kill 'em All" as their favorite album.

If someone managed to kill our leader would any of us cower and hide? Would we stand by and allow our country to be overun by the assasins?

The murder of the creator and spiritual leader of Hamas will have little impact on the state of Israeli/Palestinian relations. If anything, it insures an escalation.

Do any of us truly believe that the US had no idea the attack was coming? Israel is our Bitch. It's called plausable deniability.

When will you people start using your obvious intellect to think for yourselves instead of just defending a figurehead?

Now here is a radical suggestion - return the middle east to how it was before 1948.

How far back - British rule? Turkish rule? You'd have to take Assad, Mubarak, the Jordanian monarchs, the Iranian mullahs, etc. out and shoot them (not that that would mostly be a bad thing).

I won't ask where you want to send the Israelis back to.

Was it on ASV that I answered the Metallica thing the other day? If so, I now understand why so many people named "Kill 'em All" as their favorite album.

No. You don't understand.

If someone managed to kill our leader would any of us cower and hide? Would we stand by and allow our country to be overun by the assasins?

Let's see... if our "leader" were running a terrorist organization responsible for sending our young people out with the goal of slaughtering as many innocent civilians as possible, I'd want to kill him myself.

Do you even know who Yassin was? DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAMAS IS?!?!? It is a terrorist organization, Kev. I thought you didn't like terrorist organizations. I guess they're OK if it's only Israelis that they target, eh?

The murder of the creator and spiritual leader of Hamas will have little impact on the state of Israeli/Palestinian relations. If anything, it insures an escalation.

Right. So the Palestinians are going to become even MORE psychotic and death-worshipping than they already are. I mean, they're already attempting suicide bombings on a daily basis (that's what you don't hear about on the news, kev... for every successful bombing, many more are stopped), so I guess they'll, well, attempt suicide bombings on a daily basis.

Do any of us truly believe that the US had no idea the attack was coming? Israel is our Bitch. It's called plausable deniability.

And here I thought it was the Zionists who secretly controlled America. You've got your paranoid fantasies reversed. "Our bitch?" So they always do what we say, right? Bush commands, and they bow down.

I wonder if you'd ever refer to any other country that way, Kev. But, hey, they're the only Jewish country, and it's OK to hate them, right?

When will you people start using your obvious intellect to think for yourselves instead of just defending a figurehead?

By "using your obvious intellect," you really mean "agree with me and my ignorant, paranoid worldview."

I mean, look at the situation. Yassin was Israel's bin Laden, head of an organization repsonsible for many, many attacks on Israeli citizens, and Isreal rightly turned him into dog food. This upsets you. Now you think the Palestinians are going to become, well, meaner than they already were. I mean, it's not like they were calling for the complete destruction of Israel before. Now they want to destroy Israel, and then pee on the ashes.

I think I've got you figured, Kev.

You're scared. Not of Hamas per se, but of terrorists in general. You think the way to deal with them is to make deals with them. I mean, that's the only conclusion I can come to, since you seem to expect Israel to bend over for these Hamas vermin. If US forces killed bin Laden tomorrow, would you be happy, or would you think "this is really going to piss off al Qaeda?"

If you think that killing UbL would be a good thing, then why do you deny Israel the right to deal with their version in the same way?

Kevin, Israel is our bitch is she? Well hell, they must be done bulldozing those settlements in Golan and the West Bank that we keep telling them to get rid of.

Weak, very weak dude.

Hi I just found this place that you folks have been venting your views on. I'm in! 1st I am a tree hugger. IE I love trees and the forest and the nature of this country and planet. 2nd I love my country right or wrong! It's the best one on earth, with the best people, that’s my view after being in 32 others… 4th I feel the same anger/hatred that Michelle feels. I don’t care if we nuke the whole Middle East and wish we would/could without the fallout. Yes it would hurt, and goes firmly against my desire to protect this planet… BUT I would take that road to ensure a future for my own. Islam is the enemy; they hate us, and will nuke us as soon as they can figure out how. That’s a given. I am not a liberal, I am not a conservative, and I am not political. I am an American and even with the many mistakes we have made and will make in the future… I will be behind my country.
When I vote I vote for the guy I think will do the best job and make the fewest mistakes. I have voted both parties many times. I am pro military because it’s the American Solder that protects the right of the flag burner to burn our beloved flag in the world of Islam he would have his head quickly removed. I am a Vet my only child a NAVY SEAL.
I hate war but I will not stand by and allow the enemy of all that I believe in and the home of my family to have a free hand destroying it. Killing is necessary when you have a mad dog or an insane enemy. My son just came back from Iraq and was in 32 firefights; my nephew just came home also, without the use of his right arm.
Both could have been killed, as I could have in the 60’s. That’s the price of keeping the enemy at bay.
Islam is the enemy to a greater and lesser degree and so are the people in this country who willingly wear the jacket with traitor on the back. You know who you are the “America haters” that call yourselves liberals! No not all liberals some are just misinformed follower type folks. I am talking about the hate America chanters. I have a lot of years behind me and, not many more in front, and I have learned many things that have given me the perspectives that I hold. I want my country to endure.
Peace is an illusion. War is part of nature, be you human, insect, plant, or what have you. Death is part of the cycle, and as you know we all have to do it. However life is part of the cycle too, and it behooves us to preserve our unique brand of it. Be you American or Arab, Islam teaches this from a perverted perspective that provokes the destructive response that I feel. I would love to see the world free from Islam just as I am happy that communism is no longer the threat that it was in my youth.
Yes it is still there, but not with the power it once had. We cannot as a nation let Islam reach that level of threat. Because they WILL strike first. Anyone who doubts this is a fool. They hate us not because of our mistakes but because their religion dictates it. Iraq is not about oil or tyranny it’s about a strategic position on the enemy’s home ground. Sound thinking in a violent warlike world. History proves this. But even more so nature demands it in all her species in one form or another. It’s part of the balance and I for one want the scales tipped in America’s favor.