Forum : IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit

IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit’s fate has become a scandal. It is a humiliating blot on the government and the people of Israel.

Americans like me remember the hostages taken in Iran. We too felt the embarrassment and shame that a few rag-tag terrorists with no morals or scruples took innocent Americans hostage. But the worse shame was when our government, led by a person without any qualifications for leadership, was unable or unwilling to take them back.

If we could rewrite history, we would have applauded a rescue attempt that was based on disproportionate force. This force would have included a battalion of soldiers, with all the necessary equipment needed for success. We would have expected, make that demanded, that all responsible for the kidnapping be killed. We would not have minded if every Iranian within a mile of the embassy was eradicated to facilitation the rescue. We would happily traded Iranians for Americans as long as the Iranians were dead.

Trading any live terrorists for hostages encourages more hostage taking. This is pure and simple logic. Those that grieve for the family of this soldier seem to think that trading live terrorists for him is the only way to get him back. But I say this is the cowards way, the easy way. The terrorists being released are in jail for a reason. They are unrepentant and have stated unequivocally that they will not only renege on any agreements associated with their release, but will continue their terrorist pursuits as quickly as possible. Releasing them only puts future Israelis as risk.

How about using Israel’s excellent intelligence gathering agencies to find out where he is, then going in and taking him. This kind of military success would greatly encourage the Israeli people and give prestige to the government. Who would dare speak against killing kidnappers? It would also encourage future kidnappers to look elsewhere.

Israel has enough problems without recycling terrorists. These terrorists were put in jail by the efforts of brave men and women in law enforcement. How must they feel, seeing that their efforts were in vain? Enough all ready. Go get IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit now and kill all the kidnappers at the same time.