Shortly after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2006, Gazans elected Hamas. Its idea of infrastructure development was to build rocket launchers and dig tunnels. Its idea of education was to place missiles in schools. Whether it is Hamas, Hezbollah, Taliban, al-Qaida, ISIS or the soon-to-be-nuclear Iran, none of these terrorists wants a two-state solution or peace with Israel. They openly want Israel’s extermination.

The death and destruction in Gaza began with the renewed missile attacks on Israeli cities. What did Hamas think was going to happen? It’s exactly what they wanted to happen: an Israeli response with mounting civilian casualties and refugees with heart-wrenching video splashed across the world. The video could have been taken many places in the Middle East. Video from Syria would show continuing, horrific destruction with almost 200,000 deaths, some of the murders from poison gas used by the government on its own people. If one cared about the Zarb-e-Azb offensive in Pakistan, one would find nearly 900,000 refugees barely surviving under dreadful conditions in their own country. If concerned, one might find the story of 150,000 Christians in the portion of Iraq controlled by al-Qaida’s successor, ISIS, fleeing for their lives as they were offered the choice of conversion to Islam or death. Although current, these stories might be somewhat difficult to locate in the press.

The hand-wringing by much of the media and some in government about the “disproportionality” of casualties and “appropriateness” of the Israeli response to terrorism is alarming and worrisome. How much “proportionality” or “appropriateness” would one want our government to have if 80 percent of Durango – or Colorado or indeed the entire country – were subject to daily missile attacks, and our residents had to seek a bomb shelter within 90 seconds? Perhaps it might be something much more horrific. With Hamas, Hezbollah, Taliban, al-Qaida, ISIS and Iran, we should not feel so secure. Israel is only one of their targets. They hate the United States equally, perhaps even more. And they don’t care about civilian deaths.

Michael Lubin

Durango