What Would Jesus Do?

According to the Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus said:

"You have heard it said before, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. I tell you, it is not to be this way any longer. If a person should hit you on the left cheek, turn to him the other cheek also."

At a time when Mel Gibson's "Passion" is stirring so much controversy in the cinema, it is worth pondering these words.

The Middle East conflict has been characterized by an endless cycle of "retaliatory" attacks. Nobody will ever agree on who threw the first stone, but attempts at ceasefires have always collapsed under the weight of public and governmental demands for vengeance whenever a new attack occurs.

Jesus also said: "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord."

Right-wing Westerners who consider themselves devout Christians, particularly the current White House incumbents, should take note. Those who are not Christians would likewise do well to ponder the wisdom of these pacifist concepts. The war-mongers certainly do not have much to show for their efforts.

From United Press International: :

"Simply killing Yassin and bin Laden will not herald the end of attacks in Israel, the United States and other parts of the world. In fact, it could well have the opposite effect, as Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, one of the Hamas leaders predicted following Yassin's death. 'Israel has opened the gates of hell,' warned Rantisi.

Hamas' reaction to the assassination of its leader will be, says Rantisi, 'as rough as a heavy earthquake.' And as numerous analysts now predict, we could well witness the start of a fresh wave of violence erupting in the Holy Land. Some Palestinians are already referring to the killing of Yassin as the beginning of the 'third intifada.'

For every Yassin or bin Laden killed, history has shown us that there are dozens of other potential leaders waiting in the sidelines, ready to assume their place. Just ask the French about their attempts at eliminating the revolutionary leadership of the Vietminh in Indo-China or the rebels of the National Liberation Front in Algeria -- or the American experience in Vietnam when it came to targeting North Vietnamese and communist military leaders.

'There will always be terrorists as long as there is a reason for them to commit acts of terrorism,' said Charles Henderson, a former Marine and author of four books on the Vietnam war. 'These are fundamental lessons that the Marine Corps teaches. You have to eliminate the motivation.'

Marine Corps Gen. Victor H. Krulak, says Henderson, recognized that in Vietnam you could not simply win the war militarily. 'You had to win their hearts and minds,' he says. That theory holds true with all groups that turn to violence. Eradicate the root reasons and you deny them popular support, without which a revolutionary cause cannot sustain itself.

While the war on terrorism must be pursued, it must also be accompanied at the same time by well-established strategies to help stamp out the causes that lead to such actions by Yassins, bin Ladens and others.

Since the horrific attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in lower Manhattan and on the Pentagon, much emphasis has been placed finding bin Laden, as it should be. But what has been missing from the war on terrorism has been a comprehensive policy to study, identify and set out to eradicate the basic reasons for this worldwide contempt of American and Western norms."