The Chicago way...

Remember Sean Connery in the fictional account of Eliot Ness' Untouchables a few years ago? He was instructing Ness, played by Kevin Costner, on tactics... Chicago tactics to be specific. Connery's character, a beat cop, told Ness that the only way to win against the likes of Al Capone was to fight him 'the Chicago way.' The cop says something along the line of, "If he hurts one of your guys, you send two of his to the morgue! That's the Chicago way." Fictional or not, there's a lot to be said for that line of reasoning. It's tremendously reassuring to see the U.S. military taking that route in its reaction to Iraqi terrorists. In fact, it's gone beyond a "reaction." U.S. military forces are now actively seeking out terrorist cells, whether in response to terrorist activities, or due to intelligence data. Powerline blog references an article by the Washington Times with regards to Israel's use of these tactics. In Israeli warns of terrorist training, Rowan Scarborough explains that an October bombing, by Israeli jets, of an Islamic Jihad terror camp near Damascus also included one of the jets buzzing one President Assad's palaces. I would imagine that the pilot probably also waved his hand in a not-so-friendly manner. Even a fanatic would get the message. The article also states, "Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said yesterday terrorist bases in Lebanon are training some of the foreign fighters who are moving into Iraq to kill American troops. Asked whether Hezbollah is training recruits to enter Iraq, Mr. Mofaz said, "They train them to be terrorists. To what directions [they are] sending them is a different question. Part of them, I believe, are going to Iraq."" I spoke with a Marine who was on the front lines in Iraq and he confirmed that they raided abandoned camps littered with Hezbollah paraphenalia, as well as finding chemical weapon facilities. In an earlier post I referenced Israel's attack on a nuclear reactor under construction in Iraq before it was capable of producing WMD material. The article also references this attack and states, "In 1981, Israel gave a demonstration of what would become President Bush's policy of pre-emption in the global war on terrorism. Israel F-16s bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor before it could go on line and produce nuclear bomb-making material." 1981 was 22 years ago. NOTE: Israel is still fighting its war on terror. As President Bush stated just after 9/11, this war will be long.