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The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu: The Commander of the Entebbe Rescue Force

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I read this book about 20 years ago. Back then I wanted to buy a few copies to give to my relatives and could not find it. I am glad it is printed again.
Jonathan lived a short but tremendous life. He died for his people and his ideas. It is amazing to see a young man, when he was a teenager, and being so patriotic.
This should be a required reading in schools across America. May be his role model will instill in the young (and old) love for their country and sacrifice.

The people of Israel lost a great potential leader when Yoni Netanyahu was killed while leading the rescue operation at Entebbe.

These letters are the letters of a soldier. But they are more than that. They are the letters of a dedicated idealist, a fighter for his people who shows an unusual maturity and wisdom for his young years. They are the letters of a person of integrity whose struggle in life, and through a difficult Army service is not easy. He is a true patriot and a devoted son to his family .His understanding of the complexity of the war Israel is in is second to none.

He impresses as being in his intelligence, and in his quiet strength precisely the kind of leader Israel needs.

His death made him a legend , and his name a symbol of what is best in the struggle of Israel for its existence. But what a loss when one thinks of how much this remarkable person gave, and could have given to his society and world.

I was recently introduced to this work by a friend who took a curious interest in my decision to leave a career in securities and investments for a position with the humanitarian arm of the military. More than any military or political aspects of the book, I was profoundly impressed with the maturity, strength, and convictions of Mr. Netanyahu as an individual. His wisdom and fortitude and pride for his country are outweighed only by the depth of love for his family. What a fresh perspective juxtaposed with the persona of contemporary Western adolescents!

I picked up The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu at Ben Gurion on my way back to the states without any expectations (after all, how good can a book picked up at the airport be?)...and I was completely blown away - this is the most powerful book that I have ever read. In an age of anti-heroes and villians, where it is so easy to find moral failure in people and literature - Jonathan shines through as a star among a multitude of gray, flabby inertia. His well thought-out convictions followed by the courage to act on them to the end, despite the sacrifice that they entailed, are a standard that one should strive for. "I do not attribute value to a life without meaning," he said at 17, simply and perceptively - something that is so rare to see in people at any age, where almost everyone I know there tithers from job to job with no purpose other than the accumulation of material wealth (which inevitably doesn't make them any happier).

I think I will need a great passage of time and multiple reads before I can fully sort out my thoughts on this book. Everything from the Wars of the Jews (which are still as bitter and short-sighted as he talks about) to his contrast of the U.S. and Israel, to the quality of the people serving in the IDF, to what brings happiness and contentment to ones life, all ring true to me.

I know that there is more to say - a lot more - but I'm going to let this review stand on its own for now.

This is one of my favorite books. It takes you into the heart and soul of a son of Israel. Yoni has become one of my favorite people in history because of this book. It can be hard to read at times, like when he says to Bibi about why he lives in Israel and not in the US. He talks about explaining to his children... Yoni didn't have a child who survived him. That's sad. He brings you into his world, his life, his joys and his sorrows. He was a very competent soldier, who did what was necessary for Israel, but when you read these letters, you find out WHY he did what he did. Israel lost a leader that day on July 4 1976, and he is sorely missed today. This is what the book of letters has shown me.

"The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu" is a very moving account of a young teen as he moves towards adulthood. His own words portray a life filled with duty, honor, and service to his people and his country. At the expense of his education, his marriage, and later his own life, Yoni shows by example what it means to sacrifice for a cause worth dying for. In today's American society, where young liberals question the intelligence and sanity of their friends who have enlisted in the War on Terror, I think this book should be required reading.

My heart goes out to his parents, brothers, and the people of Israel. As is obvious from these letters, they lost one of the best and brightest of his generation.

This was actually a purchase I made for my son who requested it. I'm going to read it if I can ever get him to remember to bring it to me, lol. He said it was a really, really good book with lots of personal information, as well as historical. We are fans of the Netanyahus, though we have never met them. We are grateful to them for their life's devotion to their country and to liberty.

Reading about Yoni, leader of the rescue team of Entebbe, is both fascinating and sad, because one knows how it will end.

It is worth it, however.

There is nothing better than a true story. This one is true and very well written. It tells the story of an uncommonly gifted and courageous man who in the end gave his life for his friends. It did not take me long to read all the way through!

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the senate after 911.

He called 911 a wake up call from Hell.

Why were American politicians and the American public so blindsided by the September 11th attack? Why were the FBI, the CIA, Congress, the Pentagon, the mayor of New York and the President of the United States caught so unaware? They were busy studying the politics of the Middle East, and not the religion of Islamic fundamentalism. As long as President Bush refuses to admit that Ground Zero for the war on terrorism is a religion called Islamic fundamentalism, we will not be able to win the war. It has been said that he who defines the terms, wins the debate.

America has been in Osama bin Laden s murderous crosshairs since 1998 when he issued a fatwa calling on Muslims everywhere to kill Americans. No one in this country took him seriously when he wrote:

The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies civilians and military is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together, and fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God.

We with God s help call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God s order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan s U.S. troops and the devil s supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

Yes, Islamic fundamentalism is a religion and it kills. The enemy is among us, and we can no longer define who that enemy is. Like the frog in the vat of water, we are perfectly happy to take our ease not realizing until it is too late that the pot reached the boiling point while we were lulled into a false sense of security.

U. N. members are screaming loudly, entreating anyone who will listen to save the terrorist regime, Hamas. The organization has not only murdered Jews, but Palestinians as well. The world should be outraged, yet the silence is deafening, especially after 9/11.

"Give me your passport!" I smiled and said, "Little boys, you should be playing with toys, not guns." The two boys, about nine and ten years old, clicked off the safeties on their Russian AK-47s. I suddenly realized I was a dead man if I made one wrong move. It was on October 22, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon. The following day two hundred forty-one U. S. Marines would be murdered in their barracks.

The night before I had videoed the Marines' Christmas messages to their loved ones back in the States. What a shock to see children, or as the liberal media describe them, "innocent civilians," waging Jihad. These children had been trained for years in a radical Islamic kindergarten terror camp.

Yesterday, I met with Sderot's mayor Eli Moyal just one mile from the Gaza border where 7,500 Hamas-fired missiles have landed. The mayor's office is a bunker as are many buildings in Sderot. The children's play areas are filled with concrete playground equipment which can double as bunkers in the event of a missile attack.

Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran's sub-contractors, have perfected the art of manipulating the media. This has been achieved despite the fact they are rabid, racist, terrorist organizations that make the Ku Klux Klan look like mere Boy Scouts.

Some time ago, I debated Al Sharpton on Hardball with Chris Matthews. The topic was Israel's use of what the media labels "excessive force." I said to Mr. Sharpton, "Would you defend the KKK if it fired thousands of missiles into Harlem, and the residents of Harlem responded with what the media perceived to be excessive force'?"

The media does not want to show hundreds of Israeli trucks crossing into Gaza with medicines and food. Likewise, no one wants to acknowledge that Israeli hospitals in southern Israel continue to treat wounded Palestinians. Neither is it popular to acknowledge that the majority of the injured and dead are Hamas operatives and fighters who surround themselves with innocent civilians, often women and children.

During the Hezbollah attack on Israel in 2006, I was shocked to see American liberal reporters stage shots on the roofs of 4- and 5-star hotels in Haifa. These reporters, attired in dress slacks and spit-shined shoes, had donned flak jackets and helmets in order to look as if they were reporting from Lebanon. Most often, their stories were about "innocent Lebanese civilians" being killed. These men and women refused to acknowledge that the missiles were being fired from Hezbollah garages hidden deep in populated areas. One cannot escape the truth that a person is just as dead whether killed by a woman or child, or an adult, male terrorist dressed in a quasi-military uniform.

America's greatest threat is from Liberal Left liars and lunatics in the media determined to lull the American people into complacency. Most often, the victims of terror are castigated while the terrorists are lionized. The war on terror cannot be won unless media terror is exposed

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the United Nations Security Council is currently meeting and is working intensely with members and key leaders, both here and in capitals, to push for a resolution concerning the situation in Israel and Lebanon. The critical question is: With a consistently anti-Israel, anti-Zionist bias how can the UN, with a don t ask, don t tell policy when it comes to Bigotry against the Jews possibly be the savior of the day? Will this meeting be reminiscent of the UN-hosted World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa only two weeks before 9/11? Both the Israel and U.S. delegations walked out of the conference when racism was equated with Zionism. Yes, Iran, Hizbullah, and even Hamas are now encouraging the UN to act. I wonder why?

Could it be a ploy to allow a group of about 60 Iranian volunteers that set out from Teheran to join fellow Iranian volunteers in Lebanon time to reach their destination?

With yellow Hizbullah flags flying, Amir Jalilinejad, chairman of the Student Justice Movement, told the Associated Press, "We are just the first wave of Islamic warriors from Iran." "More will come from here and other Muslim nations around the world. Hizbullah needs our help."

As if to stress the closeness of the jihadist terrorist alliance, the group gathered in a section of Teheran's main cemetery reserved for war dead and other "martyrs" and prayed before a memorial to Hizbullah suicide bombers. They praised Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah and pledged their loyalty to the Islamist fanatics who perpetrated the 1983 bombing of the US Marines barracks in Beirut in which 241 US servicemen were murdered. A second bombing killed 56 French peacekeepers.

The Iranian volunteers ranging in age from teenagers to men old enough to be their grandfathers are eager to join the Islamist death cult that both characterizes Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is an ideology that justifies brainwashing Arab children to become martyrs by blowing themselves up among Israeli children, that warrants using entire Lebanese villages as human shields, behind which to launch thousands of deadly missiles at Israeli population centers.

And part of the shame of it is they are proud of this! As David Brooks wrote this week in The New York Times, there are Hizbullah victory markers strewn all over southern Lebanon, which tour buses would visit during happier times.

One brightly colored sign, written in both Arabic and (rough) English, marked the spot where On Oct. 19, 1988 at 1:25 p.m. a martyr car that was body trapped with 500 kilograms of highly exploding materials transformed two Israeli troops into masses of fire and limbs.

Busloads of tourists would take victory tours and stop at the prominent sights. Before the current war, there were gift shops and, in at least one place, a poster showing a Hizbullah fighter lifting a severed Israeli head. It all testified to the magnetism of a successful idea: that Muslim greatness can be restored through terrorism.

It is not unlikely that Hizbullah hypocrites are even now preparing new victory markers for the hundreds of Lebanese civilians whose deaths they caused by using them as human shields, firing missiles at Israel from inside their houses and using their homes to store weapons. Israel inadvertently killed Lebanese non-combatants when being forced to strike back at Hizbullah in self-defense and that is the difference. Israel dropped leaflets and made radio broadcasts warning Lebanese civilians to flee the fighting, while Hizbullah has fired more than 2,000 missiles trying to kill as many Israeli civilians as possible.

There is perhaps no better an example of how Islamist extremists memorialize terrorism than an exhibition held by students at An-Najah University in Nablus on the West Bank a few years ago. It commemorated the victory of a suicide bomber who blew himself up at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem on August 9, 2001, murdering 15 people, seven of them children. The students built a replica of the restaurant, complete with fake human body parts and pieces of pizza strewn around the room. It was very popular.

The execution-style murder of Paul Johnson has been condemned by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The OIC chief, Abd al-Wahid Bilqaziz labeled Mr. Johnson s death as a barbaric act , and went on to reassure the world in general and the American public in particular that Islam recommends the protection of foreigners and prohibits the killing of innocent people. How magnanimous of Mr. Bilqaziz!

Apparently in an attempt to assuage world outrage, Saudi security launched a search for the body of the beheaded American. Why has that outrage not extended to the hundreds, perhaps thousands, who have been beheaded and tossed into unmarked graves over the past 30 years?

According to Amnesty International, more than half of those beheaded between 1990 and 1999 were foreign nationals, and some were Christian missionaries. Why has the Saudi government not returned those bodies to their loved ones for proper burial?

In Saudi Arabia, heads roll for sodomy, armed robbery, murder, and for being a Christian. Some Christians were beheaded after having been falsely accused of drugs or other crimes reportedly as benign as leading a Bible study or offering prayers. Saudis that convert to Christianity, or desert Islam , are subject to the death penalty, as well.

Those condemned to death are taken to a public square, blindfolded after midday prayers; hands tied behind their backs, and forced to kneel facing Mecca. The police clear the square of all traffic and lay a blue plastic sheet, 16-feet square on the ground. The executioner swings the sword two or three times before jabbing the poor soul in the back to force him to raise his head. More than 100 people have been beheaded in Saudi since 9/11, and the vast majority were not members of al-Qaeda!

We are told that the militants and extremists who committed the horrendous murder of Paul Johnson have been killed. Why are murderers, who have no regard for the sanctity of human life, called militants ? Why not label them exactly as what they are: Terrorists? And, if these so-called militants and extremists are going to be hunted down and killed or arrested, what awaits the entire House of Saud?

I, too, am outraged, not only by the beheading of Paul Johnson, but by the Saudi PR-machine that has hypocritically expressed its disgust over this barbarism. It is, indeed, the theater of the absurd and a festival of hypocrisy.

In 1991 during the Persian Gulf War, I preached the gospel in the center of Dhahran. U.S. military police grabbed me and screamed, Are you nuts? They will cut your head off, you fool! Days later, I shared Christ with General Khalid. He looked at me and asked, Are you trying to convert me? We cut off heads for that.

Any thinking person knows that the House of Saud is the principal financier of the terrorists on whom President Bush has declared war. They export more than oil. About twenty-five percent of all those in the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are Saudi nationals. No country in the world has spent more to export bigotry and hatred than Saudi Arabia.

Islam is portrayed as a religion of tolerance. How ignorant can we be? Women cannot drive cars in Saudi Arabia, girls are still circumcised, political parties and trade unions are outlawed, the Church and State are one in Saudi Arabia. Do not hold your breath while searching for a Christian church or Jewish synagogue in that country; you will suffocate. Television is censored to the degree that if Mickey Mouse gives Minnie Mouse a peck on the cheek, poor Mickey will be banished from the kingdom!

Several years ago, I interviewed a U.S. Aramco employee. He told me he was tortured for having a video of The Love Boat in his suitcase. He was accused of possessing pornography. While in jail, he feared he might be beheaded.

The Holy Grail of understanding is that there is nothing tolerant about Saudi Arabia. Shariah (Islamic law) shows no tolerance. No, it is no coincidence that 15 of the 19 terrorists who attacked America on 9/11 were Saudi Arabian. All were Wahabists, as is the Taliban, and the majority of the population of Saudi. If democracy comes to tolerant Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden would be elected in a landslide.

We have been assured that Saddam Hussein was not involved in 9/11; on the other hand, we know with certainty that Saudi nationals were. For the House of Saud to try to distance itself from Islamic fundamentalism would be tantamount to Osama trying to distance himself from terrorism.

The same can be said of al Qaeda. The general Muslim population thinks the evil empire of communism was not defeated by Ronald Reagan and the crusaders, but rather, it was Osama bin Laden and Islam that caused the Soviet house of cards to crumble in Afghanistan. They also believe there is just one evil empire in the world, and that Iraq will be to America what Afghanistan was to the Soviets.

he war on terrorism is a war against bigotry. It s a war that cannot be won unless we deal with Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Bigotry is a terrible thing; no one appreciates being discriminated against. Imagine, however, someone hating you so much that they refuse to even recognize your very existence. Conversely, imagine being told if you did precisely as you were instructed, your right to exist would be recognized. Israel has faced this catch-22 situation since her rebirth in 1949.

Millions of Arab bigots are propagating as true the diabolical lies quoted by Hitler from Mein Kampf and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Arab children are being taught that all wars are caused by the Jews, that the Jews invented AIDS, that Jews attacked America on September 11 th and blamed it on the Arabs, and that America went to war against Iraq to appease the Jews. While this sounds ridiculous to us, it is accepted as truth in Arab lands.

The truth is the Baghdad Bobs of the Middle East feed these myths and conspiracy theories to the masses daily. These fabrications are believed as the Gospel, and used to inflame Palestinian children to commit violent acts against the Jews. Children play death games, collect terrorist cards (complete with pictures of suicide bombers), and fantasize about killing Jews to reclaim al-Quds (Jerusalem.)

And it doesn t stop with pretense! At least two-dozen children under the age of 18 have perished as suicide bombers; children as young as 11 have been enlisted as mules to smuggle bomb-making supplies into Israel. The two young Palestinians who carried out the most recent attack in Ashdod were 17-years-old.

In 1997, I wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal entitled, Where s the Outrage? The article outlined the fact that the world continued to tolerate Arafat s speeches calling for one million martyrs to liberate Jerusalem. Yet today, Arafat s Palestinian Authority uses the television airwaves to encourage children of all ages to become Shahada suicide martyrs.

Money keeps Arafat in power! Since 1994, he has kept a tight grip on $5.5 billion dollars of international aid that has flowed into Palestinian coffers. He dispenses his wealth to would-be martyrs, as well as to purchase 50-ton shipments of weapons from Iran. Arafat s critics are either paid off, or murdered. According to Israeli intelligence, Arafat s personal holdings are reported at $1.3 billion. This includes a 23 percent stake in a casino in Jericho (estimated worth - $28.5 million), 20 percent of a Tunisian telecom company (estimated at $50 million), and a $55 million share of a firm that controls most of the cement imported into the territories.

Every six months, President Bush has an opportunity to allow the Anti-terrorism Act of 1987 to become law. The time has come for Mr. Bush to refuse to sign another waiver on this resolution, and allow it to be enacted. This document places the PLO firmly where it belongs; on the terrorist list. This Act would hold Arafat and his entire terrorist cartel accountable, and stop PLO terrorists from entering the U.S. under diplomatic immunity. It is time for President Bush to freeze Arafat s $1.3 billion in PLO funds, and pay compensation to the survivors of Americans killed by Arafat.

As far back as February 12, 1986, a letter was sent from 47 Senators to the U. S. Justice Department demanding that Arafat be indicted for the murder in Khartoum, Sudan, of Ambassador Cleo Noel, and charge d affaires, C. Curtis Moore. To date, no action has been taken; but there is no statute of limitations on murder. It must also be noted that the U.S. State Department has an audiotape of Arafat s order to have the American diplomats killed.

God bless President George W. Bush for refusing to invite Arafat to the Bush White House. He has drawn a line in the sand on this issue. Now it is time to send Arafat to The Hague to stand trial alongside Milosovic.

In order to win the war on terrorism, America must fight a war on bigotry. The same bigotry that kills Jews also kills Christians. We discovered that on 9/11. For all the Arab bigots who call themselves patriotic Americans , and who don t like the signing of this document, the President needs to refuse to recognize their right to exist as an American, and send them back to their countries of origin.

"Will terrorism come to America, and if so, when and where?" "Yes," he said, "I believe it will, and the most likely city will be New York...and the building, the Empire State Building in that it's the tallest." Isser Harrel (who ran Israel's Mossad Intelligence network from 1947 to 1963) was correct the year he told me that the Empire State Building was the tallest building; however, the following year, the much taller Twin Towers were built. That meeting took place decades ago!

On Tuesday, September 11, terrorists delivered two 189-ton bombs in the form of fully fueled aircraft. Yet as horrific as that demonic attack was, it was not the worst-case scenario.

The 21 st Century terrorists have access to chemical and biological weapons that can kill tens of thousands in a matter of minutes. Extremist Islamic terrorist organizations nullify the need to have air power or Intercontinental missiles as delivery systems for an Islamic nuclear payload. The terrorists themselves will be the delivery system. In the worst of such scenarios, the consequences could be not a car bomb, but a nuclear bomb.

Bin Laden issued a statement called the "Nuclear Bomb of Islam." In it he said, "The international Islamic front for fighting the Jews and Crusaders is the duty of all Muslims." He called on all Muslims to "...prepare for as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God."

This new 21 st Century terrorism now is a direct confrontation against "The Great Satan - America" who in the eyes of the bin Ladens of the world is desecrating the cradle of Islam. Bin Laden's network Al-Qa'ida (The Base) is a coalition of the most diabolical terrorist organizations in the world, all linked together with a common cause - to attack the kingdom of evil - America. The actions of bin Laden and his terrorist links could not be possible without a broad infrastructure of government movements and organizations that support terror directly or indirectly.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a day of celebration - like a sporting event - among the world family of terrorists. Like a team sport, terrorism is a team effort. To win--America must focus on the whole team of opponents instead of one player.

After more than 300 suicide attacks in 14 countries through 17 organizations- just this year- it's time to deal harshly with the family of terrorists and their sponsors.

Even in World War II, America was not forced to confront suicide bombers on its own soil. We never concluded, in WWII, we could win the war by shooting down one suicide bomber. The victory obviously required more systemic measures. Likewise, to truly defeat terrorism, we need to open our eyes to the obvious-that Osama Bin Laden is a card-carrying member of a terrorist cartel who is received with honor by the Saddam Husseins of the Middle East (terrorist states) - and, then direct bold efforts to stop him and aggressively stifle the entire scope and network of terrorist activity.

Terrorism shows itself to us in 21 st Century makeover. Today, terrorist states generally don't take hostages. Incognito--they can pose greater psychological damage by paralyzing, confusing and diminishing the ability of a nation to retaliate.

Young terrorists are used as Jihad bait by elusive terrorist states and organizations. It's a "don't ask, don't tell" world where the sponsors, with tears in their eyes, innocently express their condolences to victimized countries. Organized crime is about greed. Terrorism is about glory...the glory of humiliating "The Great Satan - America"...the glory of believing that all of the terrorists' family members are guaranteed a place in heaven because of their acts, and that, as young men, they will be greeted in Heaven with a room full of voluptuous virgins.

Does it seem a little strange that Syria, Iran, Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and even Palestine (the P. L. O.) have never turned a terrorist over to America, and have never had problems with the terrorists they harbor? This is the reason for the dancing in the streets. It's the theater of the absurd, and a festival of hypocrisy!

The terrorist cross hairs are on "The Great Satan - America" that they see as the pig polluting the world with her prosperity, power and pornography and infecting the Islamic vision with her moral and religious perversion. Terrorists don't hate the West because of Israel; they hate Israel because of the West. Why the Twin Towers? Because it was a symbol of America's influence. The towers were 100 stories high and could be seen from 150 miles away. In 1993, a car- bomb failed to destroy the World Trade Center.

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, spiritual leader of the World Trade Center bombers in 1993 said, "The obligation of Allah is upon us to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah...We have to thoroughly demoralize the enemies of God by blowing up their towers that constitute the pillars of their civilization...the high buildings of which they are so proud."

The New York police found 47 boxes of Rahman's terrorist literature. Rahman, who was involved in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, came to America in 1990, free to set up his terrorist shop in New Jersey as if with our blessing.

PBS, in a piece aired in 1994, described the terrorist team effort. The documentary revealed the threat of a quilt-work of Islamic groups and terrorist sponsors that have sprung up across America since the Iranian revolution. These groups include arms of Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hizballah with cells in New York, Florida, Chicago, Kansas City, and Dallas. The groups hide behind a smoke screen of small businesses and religious and charitable Islamic groups. These team members work in the U. S. to raise funds, recruit volunteers, and lay plans for terrorist missions for the ultimate battle against "The Great Satan." Their primary objective is to succeed with the mission without being blamed, then to realize widespread media coverage, and to maximize psychological and economic damage through terror.

It's past time that America drew a line in the sand. The conspirators of America's greatest terrorist attack in U. S. history walked freely in our streets. The truth is we have thousands of terrorist sympathizers and supporters living in the U.S. We must immediately take a hard look at our laws regulating and screening immigration and asylum seekers, and deal aggressively with terrorists who have already slipped through the cracks.

Secondly, America needs to focus on the terrorist cartel and work aggressively with all western democracies to cut it off - like the head of a poisonous snake. As long as we allow organizations to harbor terrorists, and countries to empower them and reward them, the network will thrive. Syria poses a prime example. She received one billion dollars for providing a show of force during the Persian Gulf War. Syria is recognized by the State Department as a terrorist country. When the U.S. this week asked Syria to be part of the coalition against terrorism, they flatly refused.

Thirdly, America must outlaw the businesses and fundraising groups operating legally in this country yet supporting terrorism; arrest and, at the very least, deport the groups and individuals.

Fourthly, we need to freeze financial assets of terrorist regimes and organizations throughout the entire western world. Countries and organizations that harbor terrorists should not even be able to spit in the wind without it coming back in their faces.

Once America makes up its mind to deal aggressively with terrorists through economic and military retaliation, the family of terrorism will fragment, and no longer will terrorism be a team effort.

On the morning of February 26, 1993, Yigal Carmon, then counter-terrorism adviser to prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, warned the Pentagon that radical Islam was an imminent threat to America. At the end of his briefing, he was told by smirking critics that they did not consider a religion to be a threat to national security.

Later that morning Carmon flew on to New York, where, while having lunch, a huge explosion took place nearby: Islamic terrorists had attempted to blow up the World Trade Center, killing six people and wounding 1,000.

Last September 11, Islamic terrorists finished the job. No one wants to admit why Americans were attacked just by whom. But Osama bin Laden is only the vanguard of a religious hatred that originates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and seeks to impose the will of radical Wahabi Islam throughout the world. The terrorist threat that bin Laden demonstrated on September 11 was just the opening salvo in the first world religious war of the 21st century.

An earlier campaign in the same war began in Israel in 1987, called the intifada. From mostly stone-throwing, this violence has escalated into the horrific suicide bombing that has come to characterize the so-called "al-Aksa intifada."

From scenes of Palestinians dancing on West Bank rooftops during Iraqi Scud attacks of the Gulf War, we are now witness to Palestinian mothers celebrating and handing out sweets upon hearing that their sons have blown themselves up killing innocent Israeli bus passengers. In this grotesque dance of death, Islamic zealots who are murderers are revered as religious martyrs.

On December 9, 1987, the Muslim Brotherhood met and issued a communique calling for the intensification of the Palestinian uprising. It was signed by representatives of the Islamic Resistance movement. Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden's mentor, developed the theme: "There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except jihad." The goal was simply to export Ayatollah Khomeini's "Islamic revolution" via the Hamas movement, and thereby Islamicize the Palestinian national struggle. Just as Islam had defeated the strongly pro-Western shah of Iran and shamed America, and just as Islam had defeated the communists in Afghanistan and led to the collapse of the Russian empire, so would the "Zionist entity" be slowly bled to death -- and so would the Great Satan, America.

There were no expressions of outrage from leading Muslim clerics on September 12 -- a silence as deafening as that regarding Jews who are slaughtered weekly in Israel by the same type of Islamic terrorists. This same silence has greeted the deaths of Palestinians themselves, who were branded as collaborators and summarily executed for allegedly working for Israel. Just a couple of weeks ago, Ikhlas Yasin, 39, the mother of seven children, was shot and killed by executioners of Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the main square of Tulkarm. An intolerant, radical Islam is striving to become the vocabulary of everyday life, reshaping the language of politics, culture, and traditions and taking no prisoners.

WHY HAS America not succeeded in numerous attempts to implement a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians not in Madrid, not at Camp David, not in dozens of public and secret peace initiatives? The simple reason is that radical Islam does not negotiate with infidels; and if not with the Great Satan, then surely not with the Little Satan.