Yesterday, Israel assassinated one of the top leaders of Hamas. Hamas has promised to retaliate. If they do, Israel will probably retaliate. Then Hamas will retaliate, etc. ad nauseum. While I can't say that I think Israel has handled the situation with the Palestinians as well as they could have, the indiscriminate killing killings perpetrated by militant Palestinians have left me with very little sympathy for their cause.

The Palestinians feel that Israel has wronged them. They are probably right. But which is worse, an occupying power that attacks enemy combatants (and sometimes injures or kills innocent bystanders in the process), or freedom fighters who target innocent civilians? How ironic is it that the Palestinians make so much of every child of theirs who is killed, but show no remorse when their suicide bombers target busloads of innocent children? If Israel has wronged the Palestinians, the Palestinians have also wronged Israel. Retaliation does not even the score--it only puts each side further in debt.

Terrorism is definitely busted. What kind of pathetic individual rejoices in the killing of innocent people? What kind of pathetic individual thinks that the people who were killed and injured in the recent train bombings in Madrid were only receiving their just reward for...for what? For the actions of other who happen to live in the same country as them? Or for the actions of others who happen to share some other category with people who the terrorists have a grievance with, though no fault of their own? If a man brings injustice on a someone, should all men be punished? If an English speaker brings injustice on a someone, are all English speakers guilty of their crimes? If a citizen of a capitalist country brings injustice on someone, is it a holy act to kill all capitalists? Injury to innocents should not be rewarded with murder of innocents. If terrorists have a grievance with someone, they should at least direct their response to those they have a grievance with.

What a ridiculous waste of lives and resources battles with terrorists are. What a ridiculous waste of lives and resources all war is. What a shame that we must undertake war to protect ourselves from those whose sense of justice is so twisted that we can only protect our innocents by seeking their eradication.