Be Careful What You Wish For

Great news! Some Arabs are now expressing their displeasure at the recent spate of bombings.

At first glance this is wonderful news. It appears to be indicative of their culture starting to understand the value of human life. But looking just under the surface, we can see how it is actually just another expression of the same Arab position.

This week's terrorist attacks have angered millions across the region not just because of their brutality, but because innocents — including Arabs and Muslims — were caught up in the violence.

"If those people want to harm the Americans, let them target military locations, but never civilians," said Palestinian Awni Shatarat, speaking from a Jordanian refugee camp.

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A leader of Egypt's largest Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, said the entire Islamic community was opposed to suicide bombings targeting civilians.

So the Arabs aren't upset with bombings per se, just ones that kill Arab and Muslim civilians. In other words, they acknowledge that they have been prosecuting a war against the US and the Jewish populations around the world. If they're not at war, why aren't they condemning all bombings? Why they distinction about bombings of civilians?

They, of course, fear provoking the US (or Israel) into a real war. 9/11 woke them up to the fact that a determined and focused United States is the most fearsome opponent the world has ever seen. A real war against the United States (or Israel) will mean annihilation or permanent displacement. Bin Laden and Saddam have already proved the folly of direct confrontation with the US.

So they work through pinprick attacks. A bomb kills five, ten, twenty-five people. Then the terrorists come out and condemn the bombings, if they kill only Arabic or Muslim civilians, and praise it if the succeed in killing any Americans or Jews.

The result is that the Arab Street celebrates the successes and the apologists defend them in the aftermath of their mistakes. And as long as we look at the bombings as an annoyance, and not a threat, then everything is fine.

But with success being dependant on our not recognizing the attacks as a threat anything that serves to raise our awareness would is itself a threat to the terrorist's plan.

Right now, it is only the apologist media's glossing over of threatening comments that is keeping us from realizing the depth of the threat. The Arab Street is acting arrogant and boastful. The media cannot squash all of the comments made against us. But they try to ignore the ones that slip through. As a result, most of the American people go along every day happy and ignorant of the world around them.

The main difference between the attitude of the Israelis and the Americans is due to proximity to the terrorists. The Israelis deal with the threat every single day and have realized the hatred of the Arab Street. The US, far away from a direct threat, downplays the significance of the terrorists’ actions. It is only because of our attitude that Israel has not attacked the terrorists with extreme prejudice.

Eventually the terrorists will tweak us a little too hard. When the giant turns its attention to them, they will rue the day that their wish of all out war with the US was granted.