The Clusterfuck Nation Chronicle

Commentary on the Flux of Events

Just off the radar screen of Infotainment Nation, a momentous thing has happened in Israel over the past several days: the Israeli government has put the US government on notice that it is no longer disposed to follow American "suggestions" for how Israel should conduct its defense against Intifada II.

For a year, Palestinian terror forces have pressed their campaign of car bombings, pizzaria bombings, snipings, armed assaults, shootings at Israeli soldiers from behind a screen of rock-throwing children, etc, and the Israelis have responded tactically with assassinations of terrorist leaders, rocket attacks on Palestinian police stations (which happen to be command centers for Palestinian terror activities), and tank incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas of Israel.

Since the murder last week of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi, the Sharon Government has decided to ramp up their response to Palestinian violence. The US knows that this is a dangerous game. As the casualties mount, in particular the Palestinian dead, one billion Muslims from West Africa to the South China Sea will become increasingly inflamed. They will blame the US, of course, and we're liable to see some of our embassies attacked in places like Indonesia and Egypt, where the enormous populations of the poor and the hopeless can overwhelm any kind of police security those nations try to put up.

I don't know whether Israel is capable militarily of suppressing the Palestinian violence. Like all modern armed forces, Israel's is geared mainly to fighting conventional battles, not civilian insurrections. But they are now sending a message to the Palestinians that a higher price will be paid for bombings and shootings and that the Sharon government will no longer be restrained by an America worried about what comes next after Anthrax-by-mail.