Wouldn't you know, just when I swear off posting for the day, a thought occurs to me. I've been hearing this story all morning.

So, we kill four of them when they attack, and we pursue and kill another twenty seven. Nobody tells us if any escaped, which is to me the most important statistic, from a psychological standpoint.

Think about it. The Pali terrorists don't mind dying if they get to take Jews with them, so it's hard to dissuade them from their attacks even by killing them. But if every time the Fedayeen attack us in Iraq, they have no survivors, and we sustain no or minimal casualties, rendering the whole thing futile, I'll bet the attacks will stop pretty quickly. Imagine their state of mind if they send out a squad against the Americans, and none of them return.

It may in fact be possible to dissuade them, even without killing them all. After all, contrary to the conventional wisdom of the media, it's hope that fuels such attacks, not hopelessness. We have to take away all hope from Saddam's minions (which will in turn boost the hope of the Iraqi people).

This is a lesson that we have to figure out how to apply to the Israeli situation. Unfortunately, I don't think the State Department gets it yet.

Great perspective. Maybe I'm just brainwashed, but I don't see the Iraqis as die-hards like the Palestinians or the Viet Cong.

Excellent blog. I've linked to it. Please link back to mine, if you like.

The State Department doesn't get anything. They are stuck in the Thirties and need to be eliminated.

Sure they might stop. Then again, the people of Basra might start liking us like we were told they would.

That lefty commie rag the Telegraph has a report on a 10,000 person protest in Basra against British occupation.

Rand,

You've hit on what is probably the biggest reason why not nailing Saddam is a bad thing.

Until we can show Saddam (and Uday and Qusay) are dead, his loyalists will have hope that he will return, and anti-American forces will have a center around which to coalesce. Worse, those who might waver (or even come around), fear that we might just up and leave (as some on our own side advocate), leaving them to the tender mercies of the revived Ba'athists and Saddam loyalists.

OTOH, showing his head on a pike, or in custody, along w/ his sons, would have the same impact that the Emperor's August broadcast, or the death of ol' Adolf did. It would show, once and for all, that the system was D-E-A-D.