Winds of War: How Some Dealt With Terrorism in History

http://the-gathering-storm.blogspot.com/2008/02/winds-of-war-how-some-dealt-with.html
Friday, February 29, 2008
Saw the movie ‘Vantage Point’ this weekend. One line struck me about our current fight with terrorism. One of the terrorists said just before he died. “You can’t stop us. This fight will never end.”
Over at FaithFreedom.org, a member wrote a long post about how history dealt with terrorism.
… every day the police inform us about the arrests of “peaceful Muslims” and about the plots uncovered in Italy, Spain, France, Holland, USA, Russia…

Yet, the Muslims, supported by the gang of “liberal” politicians and journalists, look at us innocently like the famous husband caught in bed with another woman and ask the same question: Who are you going to believe? Us, or your lying eyes?

And what is absolutely puzzling; there is quite a lot of people who quite seriously try to convince us that we can stop this rain of mortal attacks by being “kind” and “tolerant”, and who with clever faces repeat like parrots the senseless commonplaces like “violence gives rise to more violence”, or “two wrongs don´t make a right”, or “you cannot defeat violence with more violence”. Is that true? History says otherwise.

**
The lesson from General Pershing:
Pershing dealt with the jihadist of his day in the Philippines in this way.
Pershing ordered to grease the bullets with pork lard and do it so that the Muslims to be shot would see this. After shooting the body of every terrorist was wrapped in pig leather and before the burial they were covered with pig´s entrails. Three of the Muslims were let free and they told the whole Muslim community of Philipinas details about what had happened.

You may have thought that the whole community, as one man, ran into the streets to protest, to set the cars and shops on fire, to break windows and to kill the American soldiers?

You would be wrong. There was not A SINGLE TERRORIST ATTACK PERPETRATED BY MUSLIMS IN PHILIPPINES against Americans from this moment.

The lesson from General Ermolov:
Russia’s first run in with Chechens resulted in the kidnapping of a Russian General.
The Chechens then sent a man to the Commander in Chief of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, General Ermolov. This man told General Ermolov that if by tomorrow he did not pay 100,000 rubles in ransom, the kidnapped major would have his head cut off.

Immediately after this Chechen message was delivered, General Ermolov ordered the arrest of some 30 of the most respected men of the village and informed the bewildered and frightened man who brought him the ultimatum that if by tomorrow the Russian officer does not appear in his military unit, all the 30 hostages will be hanged on the gates of their houses. And if this does not happen, the next day he will order to hang the whole village.

On the next day, early in the morning, two "fearless Chechen fighters", with a lot of respect, approached the gate of the camp of the General Ermolov and told him that the Russian officer, together with his horse, had been returned, and that they humbly apologize "for the terrible mistake".

They knew Ermolov well, and knew that he would easily fulfill his promise.

The lesson of the Turkish cruiser:
The Chechens were at it again in the mid-90s. This time they confronted Turkey. Big mistake.
A cruiser going from Turkey to Russia. A group of armed Chechens on board announces:

"You are all hostages! Sit still! Obey! Go out! We want the liberation of our brothers from the Russian jails"
In 3 hours the Turkish Police and Special Services found and arrested ALL the relatives of these Chechens living in Turkey. The Police then informed the guys on board the cruiser that in 5 hours the cruiser with all the passengers in good health must enter the Port of Istanbul. After which all the Chechens must leave their weapons on the deck of the cruiser and go down the ladder with their hands raised high above their heads. Otherwise the members of their families would be shot.

And in five hours the ship entered the port, and the "Chechen heroes" went down the ladder as good guys, with their hands raised high above their heads.

The lesson of the Palestinian sheikh:
An overenthusiastic sheik during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Lebanon recived a lesson on ‘diplomacy’ from Russia.
When the Lebanese Christians prayed for Israel to help and Israel sent troops to Lebanon and together with Lebanese Christians started to push the Syrians and Arafat’s bandits out of Lebanon, Arafat demanded the intervention of the USA to press the Israelis to withdraw. At this moment some excessively active Palestinian Sheikh decided to make his contribution "to the just struggle of Muslims", and took hostages 5 Soviet specialists who had worked there on contract with some Lebanese company. He then informed the Soviet Embassy that if the USSR does not use all its political and economic influence to make Israel withdraw, then every 24 hours one of the hostages will be beheaded.

The Soviets immediately sent to Lebanon a Special Task group, activated the local residential net and kidnapped 5 men very dear to this Sheikh.

And in a couple of hours the brave Sheikh received a package. Inside he found the head and genitals of one of his friends and a message in which he was informed that if in 6 hours all five Soviet citizens were not standing at the Soviet Embassy’s gate, the Sheikh would get a head every hour. And when the heads and genitals end, all the training camps of Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon and Syria will be leveled to the ground.In the morning all five Russians were brought to the Soviet Embassy gate, with apologies.

**

Getting back to the quote by the terrorist in the movie, I’m reminded of another quote from a history professor I heard on the radio. I can’t remember his name but they were discussing a democratic nation’s response to an attack. He said, more of less that democracies are hard to incite to war. They don’t like it nor do they pursue it. But when they are finally given no choice – they respond with viciousness.
That was his word – viciousness. Remember Hiroshima?