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Warning ourselves to death By Yoel Marcus Tags: Israel Guess who pipes up every time Israel is about to celebrate some holiday and people have plans to go out and have some fun? You don't have to look too hard to figure that out. They call him the "national scaremonger." The title is always the same. Only the names change. This time, the scaremonger is army intelligence chief Major General Amos Yadlin, who appeared at the weekly cabinet meeting and warned Hamas was planning large-scale attacks - "quality" attacks, in the parlance of military commentators - to ruin the party on Israel's 60th birthday. One of the possibilities, he says, is a terror attack or bombing at the Gaza Strip crossings, like on the eve of Passover, or maybe a series of attacks that will culminate in the abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Hamas' political echelon is losing its dominance to the military wing, which could lead to a mass attempt to storm the barricades with Israel with the help of booby-trapped cars. And let's not rule out the possibility of a revival of suicide bombings inside Israel. Advertisement The important thing is that every possible scenario is taken into account and they've got their asses covered, as the common folk would say. The intelligence chief did not make these doomsday predictions from a podium in Rabin Square; he was reporting to the cabinet. So he cannot be accused of sowing public panic. The fault lies with the government official who leaked the information, presumably so no one could say the government hadn't foreseen all the possibilities and dangers in advance. Not a very smart leak, since it wasn't accompanied by instructions to the public about what it should or shouldn't do. If special measures are needed, why don't they just go ahead and do the job, but quietly, without driving everyone crazy and scaring the country half to death? Take the warnings of senior defense establishment officials about the terrible vengeance that was supposed to come our way on the 40th day after the assassination of Imad Mughniyah in Damascus. The 40 days are up, and nothing has happened. This is not to say that in another six months, or two years from now, some organization won't carry out a mega-attack on a Jewish or Israeli target somewhere in the world. But isn't that what we have the army, the Mossad and the Shin Bet for? Let them be on alert. Let them do the job, and leave the public alone. As a country that will be hosting global leaders - presidents, prime ministers and people described as the finest minds - at a futuristic assembly convened by the president in mid-May, the government needs to be more careful about spreading alarmist warnings. VIPs are human beings, too, and it could be very awkward if some of these bigwigs start canceling their trips. It would be pretty foolish of Hamas to keep firing Qassams or to launch a new wave of terror precisely when the world's head honchos are here for a visit; they would see half the Palestinian people wrecking things for themselves yet again instead of joining the talks and establishing a state alongside Israel. From the Israeli perspective, the terror organizations are a much smaller threat on the defense agenda than Iran's threat to "erase Israel" with the nuclear weapons the country is developing. In every generation, as the Passover song goes, there is someone out there trying to wipe us out. That idea is deeply rooted in the Israeli garden. But we are still the strongest country in the Middle East, a senior defense official insists, and the public should stop getting carried away by apocalyptic scenarios and problems that can't be ended with the wave of a magic wand. One of the goals of terror is to sow fear and panic. The threat of a future mega-attack makes the whole country feel victimized and as if it were living on borrowed time. And yet thanks to Israel's determination and courage, its greatest foes have come to their senses over time and made peace with it. Syria may or may not be serious about reaching an accord, but even if nothing comes of it, at least it's not a sin anymore to talk about peace with Israel in Damascus. Half the Palestinians are talking peace, theoretically for the moment. One day the Sunnis of Hamas will realize that their salvation is not going to come from the militant Shi'ites of Iran. The talk of a possible cease-fire in the near future shows that the leaders of Hamas have begun to see that terrorism sentences a million and a half Palestinians in Gaza to a life of misery. If Israel's defense leaders continue to stand tough, and are able to identify the threats and take action to eliminate them, the day will come when the inhabitants of Gaza will also strive to become an integral part of an independent Palestinian state. The horror scenario competition going on here is ridiculous. The leaders of this country need to look at the future soberly in a way that is fitting for a strong nation seeking a solution to its problems. We have to stop warning ourselves to death. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Security first Foreign Minister Livni tells the PA to ensure terrorists don't exploit Israel's gestures. Terrorist pride Lebanon-based guerillas Hezbollah say they're proud to appear on the U.S. terrorist list.   1.   i confess... 16:16  |  saul a. readner 02/05/08

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