Whack A Mole Syndrome
Well, guess what, Islamic extremist warfare is just like that. You fight and think you have an area under control and then the enemy just disappears; melts into the crowd and resurfaces in another place hitting harder. Israel is experiencing the "whack a mole syndrome" right now in Lebanon. The US is fighting this same fight in Iraq and guess what, Americans fought the "whack a mole syndrome" battle in Viet Nam too. Rumsfeld even said it: "the harder we hit the behinder we get, right?" Right!
The Israel army even has a name for the "whack a mole" battle -- asymmetrical war fare. That means we (the Israelis) bring in tanks and heavy troops and try to smash out the enemy with overwhelming force, you (Hezbollah and Hamas) have light-weight guerilla fighters that are nimble, communicate with cell phones, make group decisions in the heat of the battle, and then melt into the population when feeling overwhelmed. The fight two days ago in Lebanon for the Hezbollah stronghold, Bint Jbeil,, in the south was a perfect example of a "whack a mole" battle.
Now Al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said al-Qaeda would not stand by while "these [Israeli] shells burn our brothers" in Lebanon and Gaza.
"The war with Israel does not depend on ceasefires... It is a jihad for God's sake and will last until religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq,"
"The entire world is an open battlefield for us and since they are attacking us everywhere, we will attack everywhere."
Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda second in command
Wow, "whack a mole" at its finest. This new style of urban guerilla war fare and aggressive rhetoric is enough to make your blood run cold. We just have to get a hold on these issues that are polarizing the Muslim community and creating strife between countries in the Middle East.
Unfortunately the US has squandered its political clout with Europeans and countries in the Middle East with the last six years of "Cowboy politics" and a "we'll go it alone attitude." Now is when we need a cohesive European coalition and honest credibility with countries in the Middle
East. We have so badly tarnished our own reputation as a world leader who advocates for all people, a leader in fairness and independence, and a leader in human rights. It is no wonder that worldwide countries are leery of getting on board with any ceasefire plans that Condoleezza Rice is trying to put together.
