A Questionable Strategy

     In days long gone by, the recognized and acknowledged path to victory in war was the capture of the opponent’s sovereign. Indeed, that was the main reason kings led their own armies into battle: to give the enemy a fair shot at him, under the assumption that the enemy would reciprocate. It was also one of the measures that discouraged popular uprisings against the sovereign. After all, the reasoning ran, if His Majesty is willing to risk his life in battle for our sake, he can’t be such a bad guy:

     “Kings used to lead their own armies. They used to lead the cavalry’s charge. For a king to send an army to war and remain behind to warm his throne was simply not done. Those that tried it lost their thrones, and some lost their heads–to their own people. It was a useful check on political and military rashness.” [From On Broken Wings]

     But those days are over. Not only do political “leaders” no longer risk their necks in battle; they’re the beneficiaries of the most complete and extraordinary security measures known to history. Still the notion holds sway that if you can just knock off the other side’s Big Cheese, at the very least you can hurt them badly – possibly badly enough to get them to sue for peace. It’s probably true some of the time.

     But I don’t think it applies when the enemy is an Islamic terror organization. Consider Israel’s recent achievements:

     Nearly all of Hezbollah’s military leaders have been eliminated in recent Israeli strikes, officials in West Jerusalem have claimed, after the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in a bombardment of a compound in Beirut.
     In a post on X on Saturday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry released a diagram of what it said was Hezbollah’s military chain of command. All of the 18 high-ranking members – including Nasrallah and Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern front, and the heads of several units – are said to have been “eliminated.”
     A separate post by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) listed 11 senior Hezbollah members, ten of whom were also described as “eliminated.” Only Abu Ali Rida, the commander of the Bader unit, has survived so far, according to the list. The IDF list largely mirrored the ministry’s, but included two additional names – Ibrahim Muhammad Qabisi, the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile force, and Hussein Srour, the head of the Aerial Command – both of whom are also presumed dead.

     Hezbollah has not surrendered and will not. Neither will HAMAS, no matter how many “leaders” Israel manages to eliminate. The reason is one that Larry Niven and Steven Barnes noted in The Descent of Anansi: Islamic terror-warriors are religious warriors, and religious warriors don’t surrender: “They win or they die.”

     Islam, perhaps the most evil creed ever embraced by men, is a death cult by the old standard. It celebrates the killing of the “unbeliever,” wherever he is found. It triply celebrates the death of the Muslim warrior in the service of Islamic jihad. No doubt you’ve heard about the “seventy-two virgins” business. Granted, they might look like this:

     …but as they say, it’s the thought that counts.

     But enough of levity. As long as there are Muslims religiously committed to Islam’s multiple commands to wipe out the Jewish people, the terror organizations that act upon those commands will continue their slaughters. The only way to defeat them is to exterminate them – and thereafter, to convince any surviving Muslims that an ignominious and anonymous death is all that their hostility to the Jews will ever earn them.

3 comments

    • Butch on October 1, 2024 at 9:12 AM

    The problem I see with this strategy is that the new youthful replacements will be unencumbered by experience and invoke new ideas unthought about. 

    • Drumwaster on October 1, 2024 at 9:20 AM

    “When the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews, THEN we will have peace.” — Golda Meir

    • NITZAKHON on October 1, 2024 at 11:39 AM

    @Butch:
    True.  That blade cuts both ways, though – the older guys had a lot of experience on things to NOT do too.  Gone as well.
     
    @Drumwaster:
    Absolutely.  The problem is that in Islam, if a kid dies even as a Pallywood/Gazawood participant, they’re guaranteed paradise.  Small incentive for parents to protect them.
     
    As to how such things were handled by Jack Pershing:
    How American Soldiers Used Pig’s Blood and Corpses to Fight Muslim Terrorism | Frontpage Mag

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