International Political Will

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
–George Santayana

There has been much chatter among the media (and the propaganda artists that serve as their meal tickets) about Hamas using the civilian population of Gaza as human shields.

Israel justifies the bombing of the UN school(s), the killing of more than a dozen ambulance drivers in Gaza, and every one of the 850+ men, women, and children’s deaths by citing Hamas’ illegal tactics. The Israeli government claims Hamas is refusing to stand up and fight the honorable fight, instead hiding among their own people for protection, using ambulances to move militants throughout the territory, and hiding weapons in schools.

I thought now was a good time to review the memoirs of one of the first terrorists to operate in Middle East. The father of contemporary terrorism – a man who proudly claimed responsibility for dozens of innocent lives in hotel bombings and militant attacks – was one of the first to lay out a strategy on how to conduct a terrorist campaign.

This guru of Middle Eastern terror recorded his lessons on using a civilian population for protection, promoting a martyrdom cult among followers, using the media to manipulate public sympathy, justifying even the most illegal behaviors, kidnapping hostages to extract concessions, and killing the enemy – even if they were civilians.

Over the decades, these themes and tactics have been revised, revamped, and improved to maximize effect. Every subsequent terrorist group, from Algeria’s FLN to Pakistan’s LeT, has integrated these lessons into their own operations.

And Hamas, who today is waging their own terrorist campaign against Israel, are following a blueprint left by the pater familias of modern terrorism.

Here are a few chilling excerpts from his memoirs:

• On martyrdom:

“[The] capacity for sacrifice is the measure of revolt and the father of victory…there is no greater force than the readiness for self-sacrifice…”

“The individual identified himself utterly with the idea. If it meant the surrender of his personal liberty – he surrendered it; if it required that he leave his family – he left it; if it involved the endurance of torture – he accepted it; if it demanded his life – he gave it.”

“There was no alternative, except submission to oppression.”

“I know what awaits me but I am sure that my death will bring us one step nearer victory.”

“We march to death proudly.”

• On media manipulation:

“[The enemy] continued to call us by the name which…suggested bravery on our part and fear on theirs. They called us ‘terrorists’ to the end.”

“We translated our broadcasts into foreign languages and distributed them among the foreign newspaper correspondents and foreign diplomatic representatives…This was important in keeping the…problem in the focus of international attention…We decided to exploit the psychological weapon to the utmost.”

• On hiding among civilians:

“It never occurred to the [enemy] that we lived in the country as we did: almost openly…We were teachers and students, real or imaginary. We were real or imaginary merchants or bookkeepers. We were engineers and mechanics. We were…everyday citizens indistinguishable from other citizens.”

“The people gave the underground what the country’s natural conditions failed to give: cover.”

• On civilian targets:

“And the civilians who had disregarded our warnings, suffered inevitable casualties.”

“What is most necessary is the inner consciousnesses that makes what is ‘legal’ illegal and the ‘illegal’ legal and justified….We were convinced of the absolute legality of our ‘illegal’ actions.”

• On justification for terrorism:

“This is the paradox in the life of every man who fights in a just cause. He puts on a heavy…yoke, in order to throw off a yoke. He makes war so that there should be peace. He punishes himself so that there should be no suffering. He employs physical force and believes in moral force. He sheds blood so that there should be no more bloodshed…He sacrifices his life – in order to ensure life.”

These quotes were taken from Menachem Begin’s The Revolt, written in 1951. Begin was a former leader of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, a Jewish terrorist organization formed in 1931 in British-mandated Palestine.

The group used terrorism to defeat the British occupiers that led to the establishment of a Jewish state in 1948. Menachem Begin went on to become Israel’s prime minister from 1977-1983.

If it worked for Israel…

But I’m sure comparisons of the Irgun Zvai Leumi and Hamas are merely coincidental.

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