Jewish World Review May 13, 2002 / 2 Sivan, 5762

Greg Crosby

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Let the war conclude

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Another suicide/mass murder by Palestinian Islamic terrorists. Arafat, once again, pretends he doesn't approve of the attack and calls on his people to please stop doing that. President Bush applauds Arafat's feigned condemnation, calling it "an incredibly positive sign" while asking Prime Minister Sharon to consider the consequences of a retaliation against the Palestinians. Cycle of violence? How about a cycle of absurdity. Hasn't this garbage gone on long enough?

I guess I wouldn't make a very good politician. For one thing, I don't have the patience for the phony diplomatic dance. It's a total waste of time and we don't have that much time to waste. It seems that just when things start to simmer down a little, another attack takes place and throws everybody off their game. Crazy coincidence? Nah. I don't think so. The Palestinian Authority is playing the U.S. like a violin and it's the same old tune.

It is as clear to me as anything I know, that Arafat, his minions, and a majority of Palestinian Islamics wish to annihilate Israel and, if possible, all Jewish people the world over. And that's just for starters. Infidels include Christians, and basically anyone who is not a Muslim. I believe the Arab Islamic world is not as fragmented as many would like us to think. Westerners who thinks there is a cultural difference between a Saudi Arabian Muslim, a Palestinian Muslim, and an Egyptian Muslim are fooling themselves. The terrorists who flew planes into the buildings of America are fundamentally no different than the terrorists who blow up pizzerias, pool halls, and Passover Seders in Israel.

Islam has been thoroughly corrupted by the hate-filled lies leveled against the West by fundamentalist clerics. For decades they have been teaching their children, almost from birth, that Jews need to be killed. Even if we could shut off the hate faucet tomorrow, how many generations would it take before the poison is washed out of their people?

The Arafat Palestinians are not yet ready for peace. They still want war. Every time they talk of driving the Jewish people into the sea, every time they write textbooks that feed hate to their children, every time they send their suicide/murderers to kill the innocents, they prove that they are not yet ready for peace.

Peace can only come at the point when one or both sides in a conflict are "warred out." Treaties follow war, not the other way around. It's time to resolve the conflict in the Middle East and the only way to do that is to wage the war that needs to be waged -- an all out 100% war. Once and for all Israel must fight their enemies until one side or the other has had enough.

A lot of the Washington watchers are saying that Bush's ultimate objective is to topple the Saddam regime in Iraq, but before that can begin, they say, things have to calm down in the Middle East. I really don't know if that's the Bush plan or not, but if it is, it's wrongheaded. I happen to think that our government can walk and chew gum at the same time. We and our ally, Israel, can and should handle both tasks simultaneously. The first thing we need to do is let Israel fight her war with both hands. While Israel is doing that, we should forge ahead with our objectives elsewhere.

The longer we postpone doing what needs to be done in Iraq and elsewhere, the harder the fight will be when it does come. Meanwhile, with each passing week, our enemies grow stronger, we risk losing our vision and resolve at home, and the world gets a little bit closer to disaster. We know who our enemies are, it's time to stop pretending they are our friends. We've got a war on terrorism to fight -- the same war that Israel has been fighting for years. For heaven's sake --let's get on with it.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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