I'm a little bit country, I'm a little bit rock'n'roll....
Oddly enough, the folks I've met from State who deploy are apparently neither, to talk to them. Most are too busy protecting their own hide to care about the agit-prop.
But I've met both rabid Pro-Arab and Pro-Israel types who inhabit various analyst and leadership positions and sit on their keesters in the DC area and bloviate....
I'd say the answer is "C", way too many who are radically for one side or the other.
In this thread, I earlier asked you be please post comments
I'll just re quote that for you form the 10th of October, 2008:
"It would be much better if you were to post a comment in your own words to explain why you thought so. Just posting a slew of links that may or may not support a position you appear to espouse is a poor technique and is discouraged here; that kind of stuff belongs on the juvenile political blogs.
It would be appreciated if you'd refrain from the practice in the future."
I'm please to not that you did in this posting provide amplifying comment. However, you also attacked another poster and the rule is attack the comment, not the individual. So you get an infraction.
May I suggest we avoid threads like this in the future?
May I suggest we avoid threads like this in the future? I very much question the credibility of most of these “articles,” as well as the value of the commentary. If you step back for a second, this thread reads like an average political discussion board with, in general, the same people agreeing with each other, and maybe one or two people getting caught in the middle. The starting point is also typical of so many blogs: a “controversial” book, statement or article. There has been no discourse that is sufficiently rigorous in its research or neutral in its approach, and nothing new or enlightening is being offered. Some of the comments reflect, at best, a polarized view and, at worst, personal bias. It is really unbecoming. I really think everyone needs to step back, take a breather, calm down and separate themselves from the issues for consideration.
Adam L
The Israeli Secret Services & The Struggle Against Terrorism by Ami Pedahzur
Columbia University Press is pleased to announce the publication of The Israeli Secret Services & The Struggle Against Terrorism by Ami Pedahzur, professor of political science and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas.
The book questions Israeli strategy in fighting terrorism, criticizing the use of a "war model," which Pedahzur argues is motivate more by politics than sound strategy.
Please let me know if you would like a review copy of the book.
The author is also available for interviews and to contribute to your site.
Praise for the book:
"Replete with detail, vignettes, and insights, this book provides a unique inside account of the Israeli intelligence and security services' sixty-year-long struggle against terrorism. It is the most comprehensive and authoritative depiction and analysis of this struggle currently available in the English language." — Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside Terrorism
Read more reviews.
About the book:
How successful has Israel's renowned intelligence operation been in stopping terrorist attacks?
While Mossad is known as one of the world's most successful terrorist-fighting organizations, Ami Pedahzur shows that Israel's strict reliance on the elite units of the intelligence community is fundamentally flawed and has not decreased the incidence of Palestinian terrorism. In fact, the diversion of funds and manpower to anti-terrorist activities has put Israel in greater danger from its enemies. The "War model" that Israel has employed, Pedahzur argues, should be replaced by a more defensive model.
An expert on terror and political extremism, Pedahzur analyzes and conveys in vivid detail Israel's past encounters with terrorists, specifically hostage rescue missions, the first and second wars in Lebanon, the challenges of the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian terrorist groups, and Hezbollah. He brings a rare transparency to Israel's counterterrorist activities, highlighting their successes and failures and the ways in which politics and in-fighting between various services shape Israeli policy toward terrorism. Pedahzur concludes by outlining a strategy for future confrontation that will be relevant not only to Israel but also to other countries that have adopted Israel's intelligence-based model.
"Ami Pedahzur has written an astute, well-documented, and compelling analysis of Israel's reliance on the 'war model' to combat terrorism. Israel's political and military leaders were consistently unable to resist the temptation of dramatic and costly uses of force when modest defensive or conciliatory measures were preferable. This lesson should not be lost on any national policymaker confronted by terrorism." — Martha Crenshaw, Stanford University
About the author
Ami Pedahzur holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Haifa where, from 2000 to 2004, he served as a senior fellow at the National Security Studies Center. In 2004 he was a Donald D. Harrington fellow at the University of Texas, and in 2005 became an associate professor in the departments of Government and Middle Eastern Studies. In 2007 Pedahzur joined The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and currently serves as associate editor of the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. His books include Suicide Terrorism and The Israeli Response to Jewish Extremism and Violence: Defending Democracy.
Israeli Hit Squad? Dubai Police Issue International Warrants
Israeli Hit Squad? Dubai Police Issue International Warrants: 11-Person Team Used Disguises, Fake European Passports in Plot To Kill Top Hamas Leader, by Lara Setrakian and Brian Ross. ABC News, Feb. 16, 2010.
Quote:
All signs point to an Israeli hit squad, using fake passports and elaborate disguises, in the assassination of a top Hamas leader in a Dubai hotel room, according to current and former intelligence officials.
Police in Dubai have issued international arrest warrants for eleven people wanted in the murder of Mahmoud al Mabhouh, a Hamas military commander, who was found dead in his room at the five-star Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai.