Quotes about militants...

"We are doing the utmost effort ... to avoid civilian casualties," said
another military official, Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan. "Really, there is
no other way of operating against terrorists who are operating inside
their own civilian populations."

I think that that quote is important to how we handle current conflicts. People say that we should not kill civilians, but when the civilians support the opposition, and the opposition forces look and act like civilians, how can you tell the difference? I do not believe that the answer is to not kill anyone.

"Israel can't be extorted by a group of terrorists, because then they'd
be kidnapping civilians and soldiers every other day," Sheetrit said.

The age old logic about terrorism. I believe it to be correct. The reason that we do not have the same amounts of kidnappings in the United States as Mexico or other Latin American countries is that we handle kidnappings in a way that works. When people pay ransoms or agree not to arrest kidnappers if they give the person back they give that message that it is alright to kidnap. It becomes profitable. The FBI has helped in the United States also. I think that the main reason is because they stopped giving into the demands. Criminals learned that most kidnappings ended up with the SWAT breaking down the door, throwing in flash bangs, and killing or detaining all kidnappers.

Amongst my friends lately we have been talking about how guerrilla warfare depends on the people. The people can not complain when their lives are ruined if they are supporting a losing guerrilla group. Guerrilla warfare is not always a bad way to make change happen. But when the civilian populations support the groups, they also need to understand that they suffer the same fate as the guerrillas. If the guerrillas win, they will have whatever they were fighting for. If they lose, then the civilians also pay.