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Oslo Agreement Gave
Birth to
Current Suicide Bomber Phenomenon
In 1993, Israel and Palestine signed off
on an agreement known as the Oslo Accord. Even though
the United States had little to do with this agreement
(perhaps to our chagrin) it was widely hoped that the
violence in the West Bank and along the Gaza Strip would
subside. After all, two of the major components that had
been agreed to in this resolution were imperative to its
success. On the Palestinian side, they would finally
become their own state, with democratic elections which
would lead them to their own rule under a five year
transitional period. It was also understood that
Palestine would remove from their basic ideology that
Israel was a place that must be removed from the face of
the earth. Obviously, the agreement involves many more
details, but these two issues had been the cause of much
bloodshed and Oslo gave hope to having real peace in the
area. But, then something went terribly wrong.
Based on the lack of desire from fanatical
factions in Palestine to have any relationship with
Israel and based on Yasar Arafat’s inability to gain
control over these groups, the violence only seemed to
escalate. But, the violence after Oslo took on a new
look that is difficult to combat. Post Oslo violence
took on the appearance of a young man, a young woman, a
delivery boy, or any other face that was available. The
face wasn’t important, it was what was below their
face and strapped firmly to their body that was
important. While suicide bombers have been used as a
tool of terrorists before Oslo, never before had we seen
the numbers of people who were willing to sacrifice
their life for, what ever their cause might be. Promises
of family wealth, guarantees of family members easy
passage to heaven, the opportunity to touch the face of
Allah, an opportunity to be a Martyr, and of course, a
steady supply of virgins, were offered as incentives to
what seemed to be an endless supply of bomb strapped
youth with their eyes on the infidels (That would be
us). While we may argue the logic of these sacrifices,
we cannot argue the successes that they have achieved.
Attention to cause is the main goal of these types of
incidents and attention is certainly what they get. One
bomber after another has been blown to bits on the
streets of Israel, along with hundreds of innocent
civilians who just happened to be at the wrong place at
the wrong time.
This method of guerilla warfare has also
found its way to the streets of Iraq. Apparently the
list of awards that the Palestinians were offered are
also desirable to those who cannot stand the thoughts of
a free and democratic Iraq. Many of the American losses,
again with a growing number of innocent civilians, have
come at the hands of suicidal missions by Iraqi
insurgents. It seems to be a very costly, but productive
way to fight a war. Conventional? Not by a long shot,
but is it productive? Absolutely! The U.S. Military is a
very powerful machine that is adjusting to a different
way in which wars are fought. The suppression of suicide
bombers is only the latest challenge faced by our
military leaders. But, whether its kamikaze pilots or
suicide bombers, our military has always and will again
prevail. History will prove that the suicide bomber was
nothing more than a bump in the road, albeit a very
deadly bump, when the dust in the Middle East begins to
settle. History will also reveal that many young people
died in vain, while strapped to a backpack of
explosives.
Although we have been very fortunate not to
have had a major terrorist attempt in our country since
the events of 9-11, Homeland Security experts believe
that it is simply a matter of time. With the destruction
that we have seen abroad, at the hands of suicide
bombers, it would be wise if we were forever mindful of
just how vulnerable that we might be to similar
attempts. As citizens, we must be observant of those
threats that come our way. We must also remember that
those threats may come from large orchestrated plans or
unfortunately it may come simply from the person who
stands beside you.
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at
your next club or group meeting, please email
contact information to:
SHall BadgeNotes@aol.com
041005
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