Shot To Death On Main Street In Broad Daylight
By Doug Patton
July 17, 2006

On that awful evening of September 11, 2001, my gaze alternating between my television screen and my computer screen, I wrote a column called "Now We Know How Israel Feels." In that piece, I retold the story of Ken Rex McElroy of Skidmore, Missouri, a local bully who terrorized an entire rural county until, after years of abuse, theft, rape and attempted murder, a handful of Skidmore citizens shot him to death on Main Street in broad daylight. Last week, like those citizens in Skidmore, the nation of Israel had had enough.

Imagine that Canada, Mexico and most of Central America is run by fascist dictators whose sworn goal is the annihilation of the United States. Picture Canada as a leading sponsor of terrorism, the primary supporter of a terrorist organization operating out of Mexico, and a rogue state developing nuclear weapons in defiance of the entire civilized world. Further imagine that this terrorist group also is supported by Cuba (which may have weapons of mass destruction smuggled in from another country). In our little scenario, this nasty terrorist group has ventured across our southern border, killed American soldiers and kidnapped others, whom they are holding for ransom. These terrorists have begun firing missiles from Tijuana into downtown San Diego. Now imagine that the United States is the size of Rhode Island and you have a more personal picture of how the Israelis must feel right now.

President Bush's response to this aggression against Israel was to tell the world from the G8 Summit that Israel has every right to defend itself, a courageous if obvious statement not echoed by the effete wimps of old Europe. French President Jacques Chirac, the most cowardly of the effetes, immediately began telling the world that Israel's self-defense was "an overreaction." He also said we should do more about global warming. There's an example of bold leadership.

The modern state of Israel has understood since its inception in 1948 that brute force is the only way to deal with a bully. Knock him down and make sure he doesn't get up again, because it is the only thing he understands or respects. After 9/11, George W. Bush and most other clear-thinking Americans understood that concept, too.

Hezbollah has a long and bloody history of murder, against Israel and against the United States, such as that day in October of 1983 when one of their cowardly suicide truck bombers drove into our Marine barracks in Beirut and detonated his payload, killing 241 U.S. servicemen as they slept in their bunks. It was the bloodiest single loss for the U.S. Marine Corps since the end of World War II. Americans need to be reminded that those lives were snuffed out by this particular group. We also need to be reminded that, like most of the Islamic governments in the Middle East, Hezbollah has vowed to destroy Israel.

After years of pushing the Israelis to surrender territory and make peace with those who have sworn to annihilate them, the world is now witnessing the results of that appeasement. Islamic extremists, who view compromise as weakness, have been emboldened by Israel's actions in recent years. Now, as is always the case when dealing with bullies, the time has come for Israel to respond to an imminent threat to their security. The Israelis should continue to attack until Hezbollah is destroyed, then turn their attention to Iran, the primary sponsor of this terrorist organization and a potential nuclear threat in the region.

No free nation can appease its avowed enemies, nor reason with terrorist fanatics. There is no possible negotiation with them. Like Ken McElroy of Skidmore, Missouri, they must be shot to death on Main Street in broad daylight.

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Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speechwriter and policy advisor to conservative candidates, elected officials and public policy organizations. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet web sites, including TheConservativeVoice.com and GOPUSA.com, where he is a senior writer and state editor. Readers may e-mail him at dougpatton@cox.net.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.