xINA Editorial
THE FEAR FACTOR: HOW ISRAEL WILL WIN THE WAR ON TERRORISM
Jerusalem----April
2.....Most solutions to the most complex problems find a home in simplicity.
Two elements motivate man: fear and sex. This is basic 101 of any course
in psychology, public relations and advertising.
Delete the sex and you have fear. Billions of dollars have been spent
on advertising stressing that if you don't use a certain product or
service you will fail. This industrial psychological method is called
"fear of failure" - and it works.
In combat - it also works.
The
Palestinians have unleashed an old weapon in a new war - terrorism.
And they have used it very well, with Arafat buying time by speaking
"peace" while his associates in Fatah and his cousins in Hamas,
Hezbollah, PFLP and Islamic Jihad sacrifice their lives in an attempt
to scare us to death. Literally.
If they succeed in scaring you from going to a restaurant, to a shopping
center or even to a park - they win. Because when you feel scared or
frightened it is a natural reaction to become immobilized. You freeze.
You doubt and look around for an easy way out. You become a "standing"
target.
The image is more
frightening than the reality.
Why do these terrorists wear masks and hoods - what do they fear?
The
combat soldier is taught well to overcome his fear on the battlefield.
He is taught to move forward "kadima" and attack.
This is the survival lesson that is taught in basic training. We the
Israeli public must now move forward. And we have all of the right reasons
to continue moving forward - superior technology, arms and the best
trained fighting force in the world.
Some
journalists confront and question us every day: "You have tanks
but the suicide bombers keep coming".
The answer here is the truth. Yes - we have tanks, but we haven't started
to use those tanks yet!
Basic tribal warfare in many "undeveloped" countries consists of using terrorism and fear factors to demoralize. What we perceive in a "civilized" society as to what is proper and what is not proper, is totally off base. When a primitive tribal fighter, or even more recently the Vietcong would make a habit of decapitating a head and sticking it on a front-line pole. The scene would appear so disgusting to the "civilized" fighter that many would make a hasty retreat. Or move forward with such fear that their actions were now inhibited.
In War There Are No Rules - Except to Survive
Israel,
the country which is known for "being a light onto other nations"
lives by very high moral standards.
We perceive ourselves as being better than the Arab Islamic terror fighters
and we are - for we value life and we don't teach our children to hate.
But we have not been better than the suicide terrorists - until now.
It is all about fear
- nothing more, nothing less.
We cannot teach these heavily brainwashed suicide bombers to love us
- but we can teach them to "respect" us.
The White House has given Israel a green light to stop Islamic terrorism
in its track here. Not because they love us, but because the United
States does not want to see this old, but new weapon spread to the USA.
After all, the last classic examples of suicide terrorism occurred against
the United States - and I don't mean September 11th. I am talking about
December 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor.
Suicide Terrorism
- nothing new.
The USS Belleau Wood being hit in 1944 by a Japanese suicide plane which
fell on her flight deck causing fires
which set off ammunition. Before the damage could be brought under control
92 men were killed or missing.
The Japanese Kamikaze suicide fighters would turn their planes into missiles well before September 11 and created extensive physical and psychological damage. The United States calculated that more lives would be saved by using the atomic bomb than to continue with a conventional war. And it worked. Not the damage caused by the bomb - but rather the fear it spread among the Japanese population. Enough fear that the "extremists" kamikazes stopped their actions for they did not want their families to suffer. A cease-fire and peace treaty became an immediate reality. I am not suggesting that Israel uses any nuclear weapon. But, if Israel uses all of its conventional weapons to their greatest strength then and only then will our enemies fear us. And this is called the "Powell Doctrine" - named after the present US Secretary of State when he was Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This doctrine of using overwhelming force to win a war, so simple, so basic in its composition is taught today at West Point.
The
fear factor is not just a physical equation - it must be delivered using
the most powerful and professional public relations machine we can build.
One good sign that we have seen only hours ago was a conversation that
took place between Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi knows the
sophisticated tools of public relations as good if not better than any
modern day politician.
The country is quickly coming together. We are resolute and determined.
We need to be aware of and secure in our goals. Morale among the reservists
has never been higher, people are helping others-- whether by giving
blood or feeding our soldiers. We give meaning to the smallest acts
of kindness. We are one country with a single purpose of surviving and
moving forward. Terrorism is not our style and we deplore it. We choose
life over death.
And once the Palestinian terrorists see our combat fighters in action,
they will feel fear.
Israelis - the Jewish people declared and cried "never again"
after the Holocaust.
This is why we have an Israel.
And because we fear to fail - we have no other choice than to succeed.
And with this success - will result a fair and lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. A peace for which neither side will fear the other, but rather respect, grow, prosper, trade and learn from one another.
Let Arafat complain
that overwhelming firepower is not fair - neither is terrorism!
Have
faith in the IDF. Go out and enjoy a cup of coffee. Keep commerce alive
in Israel.
The only thing to fear is fear itself - once we understand this simple
message, the happier and more secure we will be as a people, as a family,
as a nation.