The following is a letter to the editor that I submitted to the Richmond Times Dispatch on June 20, 2004, and was published on June 25. Editor, Times Dispatch: In a recent column, Charles Krauthammer made an excellent analysis of why Israel has won a victory in its ongoing war on terror. Israel refused to bow to world opinion and unapologetically and mercilessly killed terrorists and their leadership. If the U.S would apply the same tactics to its own war against Islamists, we would significantly reduce the terrorist threat in addition to ending our internal battles against liberty. There would be no need for such defensive and ridiculous measures as the Patriot Act or having to remove shoes at the airport. However, our leadership has been intimidated by the whines of the “Angry Left” (led by Al Gore and the New York Times) and by fear of not wanting the world to be “mad” at us for defending our interests. This irrational desire to be liked causes our leadership to look the other way at Iran’s nuclear program and its proxy war against our forces in Iraq. We must use our advantage of having the most advanced military in world history to hunt and destroy the terror masters wherever they may be. The terrorists must be made to fear us before they will even consider the hopelessness of their cause. It’s simply insane to try to win the Arab world over to our side by showing benevolence (or trying to install democracy). We can’t even seem to win over France or Germany that way. -Bob Murphy. Richmond