Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
The info I've seen suggest that this guy was not merely a titular, ceremonial, revered old ex-leader - he was an active driver of the philosophy of terror, a brilliant tactician and planner who remained heavily involved in current ops, and the source of a lot of fanatical loyalty. It was one of their better strikes.
Yeah, it would be nice if they didn't have to "provoke" more killings - but you can't use that excuse to not wipe out current murderers when you can.
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(a) True enough.
(b) I just can't see how this ends well.
On an interesting, though perhaps unrelated point. I've wondered a lot recently about how the terrorist situation today might be different if we'd had democratic governments in the Middle East for the past 50 years -- especially as I've read more about al Zawahiri's background. It seems to me like less repressive governments that permitted free and open political participation could have provided legitimate outlets for much of this pressure/activism/intellect. Brilliant and scholarly people like Yassin and Zawahiri might have found better things to do than lead terrorist groups.
Note: This probably would not have helped Israel, but remains another example of how hangovers from the Cold War still dramatically affect our lives today.
So, when you get down to it, it's all really the fault of Lenin (or Marx, or the Tsar of Russia, or 19th Century capitalism).
S_A_M
