"We told you so."

Israeli Reaction to Terrorism in Europe

Rick Oldano (a dilettante military historian) of Digital Tourist fame e-mailed me in Israel and asked how the locals were reacting to the recent terrorist events in England and Scotland. I hadn't given much thought to the matter, but retrospectively I recalled an increase in conspicuous and low-profile security, including an M4 Carbine–toting 19–year old American expatriate woman—a plainclothes IDF–designated on–call sharpshooter hauling a knapsack clattering with specialized scopes.

The Israelis are fully aware of the terrorist events and arrests. CNN, BBC, and Fox, available in Israel, have as usual, over covered the news. Israeli media regularly report terrorist activities in other countries, but one senses that Israelis are shrugging their collective shoulders and saying, "We told you so."

Israelis think that Western Europe and America have been sleepwalking in a state of denial. Islamists have been using Western charity and democracy to subvert these very values. It's possible that these incidents will lead to a backlash: displaced aggression generated partly by the lack of open condemnation of radical Islam by moderates whose current public comments make them sound suspiciously like fearful apologists.

Don't dismiss the power of displaced aggression. How do you think we justified invading Iraq after 9/11? Americans wanted revenge, and Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, was close enough and available for invasion.

How does one negotiate with those who refuse to compromise?