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July 24, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: On the road again --- and again and again

Richard Z. Chesnoff: Mideast Refugees --- Failure vs. Success

JWisdom:: Word power is about more than vocabulary by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 23, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: The Mufti of Jerusalem's Nazi ideology lives on among contemporary Islamists

The Kosher Gourmet by Joe Gray: Smoked paprika turkey meatballs simmered in red wine and tomato sauce

JWisdom:: 'Routine' doesn't need to mean ‘rote’ By Rabbi David Aaron

July 22, 2008

Yossi Klein Halevi: Dear Barack Obama

Elliot B. Gertel: Eli Stone: Self-indulgent, arrogant corporate attorney as modern-day prophet

JWisdom:: Three Weeks - Nine Days - One Purpose by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

July 21, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Spending your kids' money

Mitch Albom: A grim exchange illustrates a key difference

JWisdom:: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: Hammered on the Anvil --- Severed by the Sickle by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

July 18, 2008

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The Sanctification and Importance of Time

Caroline B. Glick: US wants it absolutely clear it has no intention of attacking Iran's nuclear installations

Mona Charen: What can you say about a people who welcome a child murderer as a hero?

JWisdom:: Living a dog's life, dawg? by Rabbi Dovid Gross

July 17, 2008

Steven Emerson: Deals with devils

Libby Lazewnik: One Step at a Time

JWisdom:: Leader the follower? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 16, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Poaching humans

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Meaty pasta salad with summer berries perfect for warm evenings

JWisdom:: Keeping A Secret by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

July 15, 2008

Dennis Prager: False Equation: Opposing Same-Sex Marriage and Opposing Interracial Marriage

Joel Greenberg: Researchers look to Israeli circumcision program to help combat AIDS 'Alternatives' to Logic Won't Work

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part V: Why Judaism ISN'T Spiritual by Rabbi David Aaron

July 14, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: A warning from Canada to those who value life

Jonathan Tobin: 'Alternatives' to Logic Won't Work

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism, Part II

July 11, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: It's hard to be humble when you're great

Caroline B. Glick: A tale of two hostages

JWisdom:: Profane for Prophet by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Duty to save gullible from themselves?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Islamists have the West just where they want us

JWisdom:: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 3: The Fully Loaded Human Being by Rabbi Dovid Gross

July 3, 2008

Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget (TOUCHING!)

Jeff Jacoby: Israel still paying for its defeat

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part IV by Rabbi David Aaron

JWisdom:: The Moses Method by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 2, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Appeasers Make Poor Patriots

The Kosher Gourmet By Kathleen Purvis: Slaw, y'all: For BBQs or Sabbath dinner, these southern recipes are something else!

JWisdom:: Rabbi Mordechai Becher: Jewish Rx for A Simpler Life

July 1, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. I think it's important to leave a legacy to my children. How much should I save towards this end?

Paul Greenberg:A President who is history deficient?

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism

June 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Remembering the architect of Torah Judaism for the modern world

Abe Novick: Hulk: Still a Jew?

JWisdom: : Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 2: The Abandoned Child

June 26, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Quantum leap to evil

Caroline B. Glick: Victimized families must not be allowed to dictate policy

June 25, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Today in Biblical History: King Jeroboam of Israel prevents pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Jonathan Tobin: Real Friends and Real Enemies

JWisdom: Raping of reason By Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 25, 2008

Steven Emerson: Kristof: Never Mind the Terrorists

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: Mediterranean Flyover: Telegraphing an Israeli Punch?

JWisdom: Rabbi David Aaron: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part III

June 24, 2008

Caroline B. Glick: What were they thinking!?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Guilty knowledge

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Warping Innocence

June 23, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Diploma dilemma

Jeff Jacoby: A world without children

JWisdom: Rabbi Dovid Gross: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality --- Introduction

June 20, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Man: The Crowning Glory of Creation

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's darkest week

JWisdom: We aren't worthy? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 19, 2008

Rabbi Elazar Meisels: The saints who don't come marchin' in

Chris Christoff: Muslim woman demands an apology from Obama after camera snub

June 18, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Still Dancing Around Jerusalem

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: Chilled fruit and vegetable soups

JWisdom: Souls Need A Check Up? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 17, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Baby Einstein

Caroline B. Glick: Bush's rhetoric, Bush's policies

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron

June 16, 2008

Varda Branfman: Bob Dylan, won't you please come home?

Diana West: Academic dares to question the 'religion of peace'

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Positive Backfire

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review August 24, 2007 / 10 Elul, 5767

Anticipated report likely to fuel insurgent activity

By Jonathan Gurwitz


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | In physics, it's known as Newton's third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.


The principle of reciprocal action, however, has applications beyond science. It's present in all sorts of human endeavors, not least in military conflict.


Phillip Carter, a Slate contributor and Iraq war veteran, has written that the United States has run through at least six successive strategies in Iraq. Beginning with "shock and awe," American strategy has both provoked responses and evolved from the reactions of Baathists, al-Qaida-inspired jihadists and Shiite militias.


Now even fierce critics of the Iraq war are grudgingly acknowledging that the latest strategy — the surge — is making progress, improving security on the ground in Iraq. The insurgents will have a reaction. In fact, the horrific bombings last week in northern Iraq that killed more than 400 people are an indication of what is to come.


Thanks to the Internet and the global democratization of communication, our enemies in Iraq can read our press and polls with greater ease than any adversaries in history. The insurgents aren't just casual observers of American information. As groups like the SITE — Search for International Terrorist Entities — Institute, www.siteinstitute.org, demonstrate, they are media-savvy consumers and producers.


As such, they realize the importance of Sept. 15. That's the date when Gen. David Petraeus gives his report to Congress — a report that will determine the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq. And even if our enemies in Iraq were to exhaust their ranks over the next four weeks in suicide attacks, just as the Viet Cong did during the Tet Offensive, they know that the spectacle of bombs going off as Petraeus speaks on Capitol Hill will be enough to render the general's words moot — just as the Viet Cong did during the Tet Offensive.


"I only served in Iraq for one year," Capt. Craig Olson wrote to me recently, "operating in the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad, up north during the Battle of Tal Afar, and during the first-ever provincial and national elections as the Intelligence Officer for a Cavalry Squadron in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Carson, Colo."


Olson is a West Point graduate and Army Ranger with two graduate degrees. He has recounted his experiences in Iraq in a book, "So This is War," www.sothisiswar.com.


"To my surprise," he told me, "I left a nation full of upbeat and hopeful soldiers to come home to a jaded and dejected public who was about to call it quits. Ironically, our internal anti-war movement was serving to deepen the chaos and increase the danger for our soldiers as we totally lost the trust of the Iraqi populace. The only way to find an IED or to stop a suicide bomber is to gain information from the locals who trust we will protect them, and that trust faded away as quickly as the anti-war drumbeat heated up back home."


I quote Olson not to stifle dissent about the Iraq war, to impugn the patriotism of American citizens who challenge the U.S. role in Iraq or to suggest that blind obedience is necessary while Americans are engaged in military conflicts. I quote him to demonstrate that in war, every action — even well-intentioned, patriotic ones — has a reaction.


Steven Levitt is one of the authors of the immensely popular book "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything." He made a stir recently on the New York Times blog he shares with co-author Stephen Dubner by asking the question, "If you were a terrorist, how would you attack?" — then providing his own answers and requesting that readers offer theirs.


Levitt's post is a controversial demonstration of James Surowiecki's "Wisdom of Crowds" theory. If wiki-terrorists could explore and expose the nation's vulnerabilities in theory, it might offer practical help to homeland security officials trying to anticipate and deter terrorist attacks.


It doesn't take a physicist, an intelligence officer or an economist to anticipate that the action of making Sept. 15 such a climactic date invites a lethal reaction from our enemies.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Comment by clicking here.

JWR contributor Jonathan Gurwitz, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, is a co-founder and twice served as Director General of the Future Leaders of the Alliance program at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. In 1986 he was placed on the Foreign Service Register of the U.S. State Department.

Jonathan Gurwitz Archives


© 2007, Jonathan Gurwitz

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