The armchair argument about the 1967 6-day war is not merely academic. Accuracy about facts is important. To know where we've been and how we got where we are are important considerations in trying to figure out where we want to go and how to get there. Too often in the U.S., we have simply assumed that the Israelis' version of event is accurate. In fact, there has been more open discussion and criticism of Israel's actions in the Israeli mainstream press than here in the U.S.


Alas, we don't have a time machine. If we did, I would prefer arrest of the terrorists, so we could hopefully find out more information about their superiors; or if taking them out was our only option, a gun that hopefully kills only the terrorists, rather than a missile that kills other innocents in the apartment house is to be preferred. What has so angered me is the killing of civilians by the terrorists. I believe retaliation is a duty of our government. Because of the nature of the terrorists' way of life, there will undoubtedly be civilian casualties. But deliberate killing of civilians would lower us to the level of the terrorists. Then it would not matter who wins because it would not be a battle of good vs. evil, but rather evil vs. evil.


Let's not let our anger deter us from our goal: to rid the world of the scourge of terrorism, not to create more terrorists.