Corpses for terrorists: Let the bidding continue

Is this a wise policy? Israel trades corpses of two kidnapped soldiers for 199 bodies and 5 live terrorists, including a particularly execrable specimen whose life should have been forfeited long ago. At one level, the decision shows admirable humanity. It pays deep respect to the brotherhood of soldiers. And for the parents of the unfortunates whose bodies were returned to Israel, this brings a sort of closure and allows them to honor their sons. But they were dead, and their souls have gone wherever souls go. Were their bodies worth the increased danger to the security of the living?

As the critics point out, the policy of bringing back your soldiers at all costs may be outdated when you are not dealing with regular enemy soldiers who reciprocate certain basic humane gestures, but instead with terror groups whose basic fighting tactic is to violate the laws of war with abandon, to terrorize civilians, and to butcher combatants. Simply kidnapping by stealth and killing the soldiers (or even killing them first), so that you don’t have to care for them or worry that they may escape or provide harmful information about you, gets you your policy objectives rather cheaply. Why not employ that tactic? Why not extend it to civilians? Would the Israel government dare not engage in such exchanges if the terrorists kidnapped a child, when they were willing to do so with the kidnappers of two armed adult soldiers? And, surprise, surprise, now comes evidence of mutilation or torture by the soldiers’ captors (and, no, not waterboarding).

From what I have read over the past couple of years, the Olmert government has been an unmitigated disaster. This will be seen by Israel’s enemies as another sign of weakness, and will not save Olmert from his personal and political troubles. More frequently one hears about an impending Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, as the years-long yap-fest between the EU and Iran produces nothing other than proof of Iran’s superior ability to lead the EUnuchs around by their noses. Such an attack may be Olmert’s ultimate attempt to reverse his political fortune, and maybe the government is trying to get a final deal with Hamas to get their other soldier back before launching it

On the other hand, maybe Israel is just bluffing on its own to get movement from Iran. The good cop/bad cop routine, with the EU as the former and Israel the latter. The recent news that the U.S. is sending a representative to the nuclear talks has the media buzzing that there will be peace in our time, and that the Iranians will now make a deal that they will stick with. We shall see.