IRAN TAKES A LESSON FROM HAMAS AND HIZBOLLAH: Islamofacism is a process, not an event--to paraphrase Instapundit. Radical fascists were not born overnight, and the global Islamism we are seeing now is not static. The suicide bombings that were used with such effectiveness by the Palestinian terrorists were adopted arbitrarily by terrorists in Iraq without regard to whether the victims were American soldiers or Iraqi civilians and children.

Now Iraq's next door neighbor Iran has picked up on the successful tactic of kidnapping soldiers that Hamas and Hizbollah used last year. The public outcry back then was muted at best and while the world did not take action, Israel's offensives to retrieve the kidnapped soldiers were met with increasing alarm and cries of disproportionate force. Even if Iran is merely repeating its successful tactic from 1979, the kidnappings by Hamas and Hizbollah and the aftermath only encouraged them.

It is not surprising then to see other Muslim groups follow suit, especially since the response from the West has been so predictable. Pajamas Media reported yesterday:

The Pentagon received “considerable pressure” from officials in the State department and CIA to release some or all of the Iran-linked prisoners to facilitate discussions between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian officials. Apparently, Gen. Petraeus sharply disagreed, saying that he intends to hold the prisoners “until they run out of information or we run out of food,” according to our sources who heard these remarks through channels.

At least the State Department is consistent, if predictable: They support the idea of the exchange of a handful of kidnapped soldiers for large numbers of Palestinian terrorists--terrorists that have been known to return to the murder of Israeli civilians. It is not difficult for the State Department to go from there to supporting the exchange of the British sailors for Iranian intelligence agents.

Unfortunately, Israel has not provided a parallel example of how to deal with this situation--Entebbe is only a memory and Iran has no doubt taken precautions. All that Israel can provide is an idea of the kind of outcry the UK and US can expect should they take strong military action.

Given Iran's precarious economic situation, the threat from either the UK or the US to bomb an oil refinery might have an effect--but both Bush and Blair have been so weakened by their political opponents in their respective countries, that neither would be taken seriously.

Technorati Tag: Iran.