Vindicating Israel’s War on Terror

About seven weeks ago, an Israeli helicopter flew into the West Bank town of Nablus, targeting two leaders of the Palestinian terrorist organization known as Hamas. The two men, Jamal Mansour and Jamal Salim, were instantly killed. Four other men in the Hamas offices and two young boys standing outside were also fatally wounded when the choppers fired.

Palestinians were predictably outraged at the attack, and they vowed retaliation. The European press, which has long been critical of Israel’s methods in its war on terrorism, seemed almost united in its condemnation of the military strike. Even the U.S., Israel’s staunchest ally, expressed disapproval. But rather than buckle under the international criticism and soften their stance on terrorist activity, the Israelis remained steadfast in their commitment to preserve their national security.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office maintained that Mansour and Salim “were in the process of planning further terrorist attacks,” and therefore the preventive measures were justified. The Israeli government clearly felt no ethical ambiguity in risking collateral damage, for the Hamas leaders had been responsible for murders in the past and would surely have continued their evil ways in the future.

After the recent attacks on Washington, D.C. and New York City, our nation has finally realized that we can no longer treat terrorists like other criminals in the legal process. The very nature of their horrific crimes places them outside the rule of law. They need to be eliminated as quickly as possible to ensure the safety of others. We now realize what Israel has known all along: terrorists are evil people, plain and simple. The life of any person who is connected with murderous, bloodthirsty terror organizations cannot rationally be compared with the life of an office-worker in the World Trade Center, a secretary in the Pentagon or a teenager at an Israeli nightclub. All efforts should be made to eradicate these terrorists from our planet, for they have proven that their sole intention is to trap innocent civilians inside a life of fear and unspeakable horrors.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll from two days after the bombing showed that 93 percent of Americans support military action against the groups or countries that perpetrated the violence (assuming that our intelligence forces can positively identify the responsible parties). Even if this action draws the U.S. into a full-scale war, 86 percent would still support it. President George W. Bush has virtually unprecedented backing for a retaliatory military campaign, which could likely expand into a generic assault on all international terrorists.

But here’s the most telling statistic to emerge from the Post’s poll: a full 77 percent of the American people would support a military response even if innocent civilians from foreign nations might be killed in the process. It appears most Americans have decided that the Israeli approach to terrorism is actually pretty reasonable. When combating soulless, vicious acts of barbarism, we must not let our high standards of morality impede the path to justice, deterrence and closure. If distant governments continue to harbor and indirectly support these terrorists, then we must resort to swift and extreme military actions in order to ensure proper punishment. We owe this to the victims, their families and our nation as a whole.

We are now at war, whether or not it is formally declared. We have been complacent for too long, standing idly on the sidelines while Israel was devastated by attack after attack on pizza parlors, discotheques and town stores. Now that our own national interests have been directly assailed, we realize that weeding out and eliminating terrorists is a matter of the highest importance on our security agenda. Earlier this summer Secretary of State Colin L. Powell censured the Israeli helicopter attack on the two Hamas leaders; rest assured that we would never, ever adopt this attitude in the future.

Indeed, had we made a preemptive strike and executed the terrorists before they boarded planes in Boston, Washington and Newark, thousands of innocent Americans would still be alive. Thousands of children would still have fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. As National Review’s Jonah Goldberg points out, “Who would argue that assassinating these hijackers in advance wouldn’t have been preferable to what happened Tuesday?”

Israel’s approach to terrorism is certainly stern and unyielding, but isn’t this the appropriate response to barbarous, senseless acts of mass destruction? The Israelis are pragmatic above all else; constant threats to its national sovereignty have given Israel a clear, unambiguous need to eliminate all those who would do harm against its citizens.

Many Americans have long supported Israel’s response to terrorism from a totally detached perspective. We are no longer removed from the terror. It has invaded our shores and wreaked havoc on our way of life. Now is the time for us to adopt the methods of our ally and stamp out terrorists in a merciless fashion. I think Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.) said it best: “Americans know now that we are at war, and will make the sacrifices and show the resolve necessary to prevail. I say to our enemies, we are coming. God may show you mercy. We will not.”

Duncan M. Currie ’04 is a history concentrator in Leverett House.