carnes@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP (Richard Carnes) (06/26/85)
In article <> cher@ihlpm.UUCP (cherepov) writes: >Apart from the fact that Israel's stance against terrorism >would be weakend by such blackmailed exchange - with serious >danger to a lot of Israelis - (well, it's "their problem"), >exchange would be a VERY bad deal for US. Here's why: > >R. Carnes talks about exchange, but it does not take a crystal ball >to see how great an encouragement it would be to all the Khadaffis >Husseins, Arafats, Jihads, Red Brigades, Gorbachevs of the world. When Israel illegally detains innocent civilians (and permits a massacre, a few years ago), it makes Israel, in the eyes of the Reagan Administration, a bulwark of freedom and democracy in the Middle East. When Shiite extremists do the same thing, it makes them evil terrorists. Just as when the US invades the territories and mines the harbors of countries with which we are not at war, it proves our awesome nobility. When the Soviet Union perpetrates similar actions, it proves their depravity. The US, to judge from its actions, is a firm believer in "the ends justify the means." Then why shouldn't we judge the hijackers by the political ends they are trying to achieve, rather than by the illegality of their means? I don't have a simple solution to the problem of terrorism, if that is your term for violations of international law. But terrorism arises from political grievances, and those problems should be addressed. Some have suggested massive retaliation, e.g. killing ten Shiites for every hostage killed. But I still haven't figured out how two wrongs make a right or how knee-jerk vengeance will lead to anything but an escalating, Hatfield-vs.-McCoy cycle of violence. Unfortunately, many Americans are incapable of seeing world politics as anything but a shoot-out between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. As long as we maintain our self-righteous, cowboys-vs.-Indians view of world affairs, we can count on lots more terrorism in the future. (This will have to be my last contribution on this subject for a while.) R. Carnes