In my prior blog post I said that the terrorists would have less justification to attack the U.S. if we discontinued our support for Israel. Many of you were quick to point out that the crazy terrorists would hate us just as much and want to kill us just as much whether we support Israel or not. I agree with that viewpoint. My actual point, that I mistakenly assumed would be obvious, is a bit different. Here it is.
Crazy terrorists depend on less crazy ordinary citizens for their support. Sometimes the terrorists need materials and hiding places and logistics support. Other times they simply need the neighbors to keep their mouths shut when someone asks, “Have you seen any terrorists lately?” If support among the public declines, I believe there would be a tipping point that would make it harder for the terrorists to operate.
The hard core terrorists would certainly want to destroy America no matter what. But in order to do so, they need to convince the less crazy ordinary citizens that there’s a compelling reason. Compare these two arguments and see which one would better influence the ordinary Muslim to support death to all Americans.
1. The Americans are in bed with the racist Zionist pigs that have stolen our holy lands, humiliated our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and killed and imprisoned thousands of our people.
Or
2. The Americans are in bed with other Muslims to build oil companies that make our countries wealthy, but we don’t like how the money is distributed, and our own Muslim leaders are not our first choice.
That first reason is an emotional home run to the ordinary Muslim on the street (or so I am told). The second one is good too, but it doesn’t have the emotional punch. I believe that if you eliminated the best emotional reasons for attacking the United States, Muslim public support might decrease just enough to help us get intelligence that would catch the terrorists before they strike. A small change in public opinion (emotion) might be enough to make a difference in bad-guy-catching.
Am I wrong?
Tomorrow I will summarize the reasons you posters gave for financially supporting Israel. It’s a long list.