Time For Israel To Change The Rules

Is it really changing the rules when only one side is playing by them anyway? Yoel Marcus of Haaretz writes:

In this ongoing war against the dark forces of fundamentalist Islam in our region, we must be prepared for the possibility of more kidnappings, more POWs and more cynical abuse of families by withholding news of their loved ones. Aware of the supreme value Israel attaches to human life, Hezbollah played a cannibalistic game with us, refusing to provide even the most basic information on the fate of soldiers who had fallen into their hands.

For two whole years, there was no sign of life from Regev and Goldwasser, yet they led us to believe they were alive. This tragic saga now coming to an end, which has driven the families and the whole country insane, cannot be allowed to repeat itself.

...This cruel horse-trading, exploiting the sensitivity of Israelis to the preciousness of human life, is a wake-up call to Israel to toughen its stance. It must refuse to take part in this sale of human beings. The current deal must be the last in the Israeli government's decades of bargaining to bring home its boys. Another question that begs to be asked is why the defense establishment saw fit to play by the heartless rules of Israel's enemies and pretend that Regev and Goldwasser were alive.

But Marcus suggests going further than just toughing out these sorts of demands:

We need to be tough when toughness is called for, and pragmatic when pragmatism is called for. If they kidnap your people, you kidnap theirs, and grab people so high up on the totem pole that it shocks them out of their minds. Let them be the ones on the begging end. It's time they played by our rules.

Actually, he is suggesting playing by their rules. In any case, Israel is no more likely to do this than some other ideas offered in years gone by. Charles Krauthammer suggested in August 2005 how Israel should take advantage of the Disengagement:

Israel should announce that henceforth any rocket launched from Palestinian territory will immediately trigger a mechanically automatic response in which five Israeli rockets will be fired back. There will be no human intervention in the loop. Every Palestinian rocket landing in Israel will instantly trigger sensors and preset counter-launchers. Any Palestinian terrorist firing up a rocket will know that he is triggering six: one Palestinian and five Israeli.

It is all very well to let our imaginations run wild with ideas--but let's be practical. And the first practical step that Israel needs to do is get Olmert out of office. The next step of course is to find someone suitable to replace him.

The latter step may be even more difficult than the first.

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