Callous and Soft Spots

Gone are the old gentlemenly and glorious wars of old. And gone are the old romantic terrorists who targeted their victims carefully. American snipers in the War of Independence, ambushing British troops marching in formation, helped achieve the victory of 1776. Likud's terrorist attacks on British military and administrative personnel helped create the state of Israel. The early IRA campaign of assassination against military, political and administrative leaders helped create the Irish Free State. Terrorist attacks on U.S. Marines in Beirut led to an American withdrawal.

As obvious military and political targets have been hardened, terrorists have begun to attack softer and softer civilian targets. And as the targets get softer and softer, the chances of terrorist successes, especially in open societies, increase.

Which brings us back to the obvious solution-- only political solutions to the underlying conflicts will bring us security.

--- from The Politics of Terror by John F. Conway in the recent Planet S, emphasis mine