Thursday August 18, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

The Shin Bet, the Israeli Internal Security Forces, is scouring the entire country of Israel. They have been combing the country for many weeks now.
For whom are they searching? Lone extremists.

Lone extremists like Asher Weissgan who demonstrated his opposition to the Gaza Withdrawal by picking up a weapon and murdering 4 Palestinians after having lunch with them.
Lone extremists like the woman who set herself on fire as her form of protest.
Lone extremists like AWOL soldier Edan Natan Sada who randomly murdered Israeli Arabs in the village of Shfaram.

Lone extremists are the bane of security teams and theorists.
Unlike organizations with leaders and members, lone extremists are difficult to predict and almost impossible to locate and catch in advance.
Fortunately, lone extremism is not catchy, the cry of one does not stimulate others to act.

Lone extremists act in order to call attention to their cause, not themselves.
The reality is that their actions, while often deadly, are misplaced.
The reality is that their actions do not further their cause.