Ted Lapkin is to be congratulated for his forthright and insightful points that make his argument for dispassioned and objective readers, unassailable. Both in respect of how to defeat the Jihadists, i.e., by the use of overwhelming military force and the employment of harsh measures in their detention, and in respect of the out-of-depth UN's position toward Gitmo, and its irremediable political, moral, and cognitive feebleness.

Regrettably, the critics of Lapkin in this stream do not understand that what most innfuences the Jihadists is not the benign actions of the US or of the West in general, but the actions of the latter that issue from weakness, as both the withdrawals from Beirut and Somalia so clearly had shown.

Go to my site for more: http://congeorgekotzabasis.blogspot.com

Stewth--good to see you see out of both eyes,
I suggest" Realist' take a trip to Isreal go to Jerusalem pretend you are a Palestinian then go shopping in the next town, you wont be allowed back into Jerusalem thats what I call ethnic cleansing' all those who keep telling us Muslims are terrorists are insane , the situation is caused by the terrorism inflicted by Israel soldiers on Palesinian men women and children, to say you are against terrorism then promote Israel as the victim demonstrates your inability to tell the difference between right or wrong, maybe you have lost your sight in one eye, why do we allow Irael to stockpile illegal WMDs, whats good for the goose should be good for the gander, I hate to say it , but what goes around comes around, if the shoe fits you where it, there is one sure way to end this conflict in the Middle East get all those involved in murder, to ask God to come down to earth to back up their claims God said we must build a Temple on the land he gave us , I can guarantee God will not come down, why should God divide his creations, maybe some of those Israel supporters could take steps to prove they are not lying , so go on , ask God to bear witness to your actions, you cant do it , because we would have the proof needed to stop religious hatred, go on make my day, put up or shut up,-- mangotree

Ted,

Hamas came to power as a result of Israeli practices and corrupt Fatah leadership. When will you people accept your responsibility as an equal partner in peace & war in the Middle East?

Why can't Israelis sit with Palestinians and everyone agree how to fix his own side of the fence? Right now seems every one is so 'disgusted' with his neigbour's backyard which at least counter productive. The approach of 'blaming the other' had no fruits for the last 50 years

Ozone - here is no ‘solution’ to this conflict foisted upon us by the jihadists, except to win it. As US Supreme Court Justice (and Nuremburg war crimes tribunal prosecutor) Robert Jackson said, the constitution is not a suicide pact. Democracies are entitled to protect themselves against those who seek their destruction. And sometimes, in an emergency, less than liberal means are needed to defend liberty.

Steel – the US didn’t ‘ignore’ the non-proliferation treaty with regard to India because India is not a party to that treaty. If you are a such a stickler for international law, you should recognize the difference between Parties and non-Parties to international conventions.

AMSDAL – you fall victim to the common error of applying civilian standards of law to wartime situations. A completely different set of rules and laws apply on the battlefield. We don’t expect soldiers in combat to read the enemy their rights before shooting them. The Gitmo detainees were captured in an active combat theatre and thus the laws of war apply, not the laws of the civilian criminal justice system.

Wobbles – Hicks was indeed picked up on a battlefield. He returned to Afghanistan after 9/11, knowing full well that country was number one on the American hit list. He claims he went back in order to pick up his passport, but given his self-admitted record of volunteering for combat on behalf of two al-Qaida affilate groups, I don’t believe him.

Strewth – Thanks for your description of me as one of the “Israel lobby’s leading lights.” It’s nice to be recognized, even by the enemy. As for your attempt to draw a distinction between Hamas and al-Qaeda, I would suggest that you read the Hamas covenant and listen carefully to the words of its leaders. It is in overt alliance with al-Qaeda and Iran and it fully subscribes to the al-Qaeda vision of a global Caliphate. In fact, Hamas explicitly states that the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state upon the ruins of Israel is the first step towards the achievement of the global jihadist objective.

Hamlet- You are historically confused. The British detention camps in Cyprus held unarmed Holocaust-survivors who were arrested while trying to immigrate to the Land of Israel. Lehi (Stern Gang) terrorists were held in a camp in Eritrea until their release when the Brits left Mandatory Palestine in 1948. And these guys didn’t complain about their detention. They regarded themselves as POWs, even though they weren’t granted that status by the Brits. They did the ‘crime,’ and they didn’t complain about having to do the time. Two British sergeants were indeed hanged in 1947, in reprisal for the hanging of two captured Irgun fighters. The Brits were told that their sergeants would be released if they commuted the sentences of the Irgunniks to life imprisonment. The British government refused, the Irgunniks were hanged, as were the sergeants. (and by the way, I disapprove of the Irgun’s actions)

Mangotree1 – You describe Israeli security measures that were created to stop a suicide terrorism as ‘ethnic cleansing.’ I find it fascinating that you consider Palestinian inconvenience and property loss to be a greater affront to morality than Israeli civilian loss of life. The fact of the matter is that the checkpoints and security barrier work. In 2002 there were 39 suicide bombings. In 2005 there were only 3.

Moreover, if the Israelis are bent on genocide, they are pretty incompetent at it. Since Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, the Palestinian population has quadrupled, and living standards rose ten fold – until the two intifadas brought widespread impoverishment.

Fellowhuman1 – ah yes, the ‘let’s all sit down around the campfire and sing kumbaya’ approach. Sorry, but it’s been tried. You can no more negotiate with Hamas than you can with Osama bin Laden. Both al-Qaeda and Hamas trace their ideological roots to the Muslim Brotherhood, which holds that the entire Middle East should be ruled by Shariya law. That means second class ‘dhimmi’ status for all you Christian and Jewish males, and 17th class status for Christian and Jewish females.

Not my idea of a good time.

Ted, your views offend me. I do not trust you. In fact, I believe you may be a terrorist who wishes to do me harm. I will therefore lock you in a prison and deny you a fair trial. This will demonstrate that I am not weak and discourage others who might have the same beliefs as you. To assist in discouraging these others, I will parade you around in humiliating clothing and maybe give you a beating or two. This will cause others who share your views, or are sympathetic to them, to reconsider and abandon their violent actions.

Wont it?

Just joking, of course, but the idea that Guantanamo Bay acts as a deterrent is ridiculous. Do you really think that all the would be suicide bombers etc are sitting around going "Oh no, I am too scared, I might end up in Guantanomo Bay, maybe I will become a Christian instead"? More likely, the human rights abuses perpetrated there inflame the situation by giving some foundation to Muslim complaints of Western hypocrisy when it comes to human rights. Do you have any evidence that GB acts as a deterrent? I am also doubtful that the jihadists are really motivated by a belief that the West is weak. The evidence is all around them that commercially, militarily and economically it is anything but. Perhaps, behind the rhetoric they are in fact motivated by resentment that the West is so strong?