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From: sdd@pyuxh.UUCP (S Daniels)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Terrorist bashing
Message-ID: <174@pyuxh.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Jul-85 13:43:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxh.174
Posted: Tue Jul 23 13:43:56 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 28-Jul-85 08:35:25 EDT
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway, NJ
Lines: 27

Roughly paraphrasing from several discussions:

>>> How many Shiites were killed in US naval bombardment of Beirut?
>> Not enough.
>This is terrorism, too.  Haven't we learned anything?
-----

After WW II, we should have learned that letting despots and terrorists
have their way without penalty is not the road to peace.  Some folks on
this net suffer from latent Neville Chamberlainism: they'd rather give
away the Louisiana purchase than see one innocent person killed.

Some things are more important than our well-intentioned senses of fairness
and "proof before punishment," particularly when dealing with powers
that lack those same sensibilities.  I didn't notice the hijackers
and those who harbored them later respecting the principal of
non-collective guilt.  I don't have much sympathy for the Shiite section
of Beirut, either.  Military camps run by militias are fair game.

There really is such a thing as the prudent exercise of military power.
If we have to chose between being humanitarians and protecting our best
interests, we protect our best interests. We do the best we can walking
the tightrope, and, if someone bloodies our nose, we bust their backside.
If we finally make someone pay dearly enough for taking a punch at us,
this nonsense will stop.
-- 
Steve Daniels (!pyuxh!sdd) "I'm counting the smiles on the road to Utopia."