Monday, July 24, 2006

Everyday Is Dumb Letter Day At The San Francisco Chronicle

Standard Dumb Letter 1a appeared in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle. Actually, Standard Dumb Letter 1a appears almost daily in the San Francisco Chronicle. For a so-called news publication, the Letters to the Editor page of the Chronicle seems to primarily feature dog-bites-man letters.

Standard Dumb Letter 1a is quite simple – quite simplistic – and goes like this. “If (fill in the blank with just about anything the United States or Israel does to fight terrorism), the terrorists have won.”

The latest example follows:

Giving terrorists what they want (Letters to the Editor, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 July 2006)

Editor -- It seems that Israel, backed by the United States, still has not learned how to deal with the "terrorists." The maniacal military response by the Israeli army is exactly what Hezbollah was after. The vivid images of bombed-out buildings and homes, bodies of innocent children in the street and the total destruction of the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon are re-energizing Hezbollah and are perfect recruitment tools for other militant groups.

The Arab and Muslim worlds are watching in awe as the United States and Western governments allow this destruction to continue without any regard for the 330-plus mostly civilian casualties inflicted by Israel. This is the perfect scenario for "terrorist" groups. Israel may capture or kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah after the bombings are over, but Hezbollah will be much stronger than before. Israel has given them a reason to continue their fight and commit more acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians.


Violence begets violence. If Israel and the United States truly want to end terrorism, they need to stop giving terrorists what they want!

The letter above, from Irfan Rydhan, San Jose, fits the template perfectly: “If the Israeli army responds harshly, Hezbollah gets exactly what they want.” The letter goes on to illustrate the horrible problems Israel is causing itself. “Hezbollah will be much stronger… Israel has given them a reason to continue their fight and commit more acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians.”

The logic of the above is certainly inescapable. If Israel kills a lot of trained, experienced Hezbollah fighters, and captures and destroys their huge stockpiles of military equipment, rockets, and explosives, Hezbollah will be much stronger. But of course!

Why? Because “Israel has given them a reason to continue their fight and commit more acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians.” In other words, they will have an excuse to keep on doing what they have been doing all along.

Mr. Rydhan seems sure that Hezbollah would have stopped attacking eventually if Israel didn’t respond to Hezbollah’s attacks. Why would Hezbollah have stopped attacking eventually? Hezbollah terrorists have all gotten old and tired, and since Israel hasn’t responded to any of their attacks, Hezbollah hasn’t gotten any recruits for years? All the Jews in Israel are dead from the continual unanswered attacks by Hezbollah and Hamas on Israeli civilians? Iran got its nuke and Hezbollah doesn’t want to be around when Iran and Israel nuke it out?

And, of course, “(the scenes of destruction) are re-energizing Hezbollah and are perfect recruitment tools for other militant groups.”

Mr. Rydhan, all of these terrorist groups (you call them militants) were recruiting jihadists and attacking civilians frequently and viciously all over the world for several decades now, in areas where the United States and Israeli militaries never set foot. It is a tenant of the Muslim religion that Allah requires all non-Muslims be made subservient to his will or be killed. The Koran, the unalterable word of Allah, so states, so no Muslim or Muslim apologist can say that Islam is a religion of peace. Well, Islam could be when all non-believers are killed or subjugated.

In the meantime, whenever harsh measures are taken against Islamofascist terrorists, we can count on The San Francisco Chronicle running letters that we are giving the terrorists exactly what they want.

It pleases me to know that the terrorists want to die, because I want them to die too. The sooner, the better.

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