Forums

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Nice dodge. You propose that, rather than bomb runways and fuel tanks, Israel should simply threaten to shoot down civilian and commercial airliners. (And then, presumably, if Iran or Syria decides to test the threat by sending a jetliner, purportedly loaded with food for the citizens in Lebanon and piloted by two willing martyrs .... Israel should shoot it down?)

I ask if you really think that making such a threat -- to kill civilians by the hundreds who fly on airplanes -- would be more palatable to world opinion, or to you personally.

And you respond that they didn't need to bomb the airport twice.

I'm sorry -- I didn't think it was a dodge. I didn't invent this notion of closing the airport, although I'm not certain where I've heard about it being done. I'm basically suggesting that if the IDF was concerned about the movement of Hezbollah arms or hostages through the airport, there were more restrained -- to use your word -- ways of accomplishing this. Assuming that simply telling planes not to take off or land is not practical for whatever reason, cratering the runway is more restrained than cratering the runway and destroying the fuel facilities. The former seems to me less likely to kill people and cheaper to fix (some bulldozers, some graders, some asphalt and you're back in business). OTOH, at least they didn't destroy the main terminal. OTOH again, destroying the power plant in Gaza was a little like destroying the main airport terminal -- not restrained.