Enough with the nonsensical hyperbole. There never was a ceasefire between the various terrorist gangs and the State of Israel. Should one want to maintain the charade that there had been a ceasefire, that?s right -- the emperor has no clothes -- it is no more.



Over and over again, it is the same story. Let?s pretend that peace can be had between the Jewish State and those who believe, to their very core, that the Jewish presence in the Middle East must be eliminated. The only elements different on this go-?round are the Israeli leaders who give in to the terrorist and the Americans sitting on the sidelines pushing the Israelis forward.



Repeating the number of attacks that took place during the ?ceasefire? is useless. Anyone interested in what really goes on in Israel knows that the ceasefire was a myth from the start. The American and Israeli leaders have played a perverse and deadly game hoping to create an impression of quiet. The ill-conceived notion that the illusion of peace will bring peace is a lethal fantasy of diplomats and politicians who care little about the people their evil policies affect.



On a day when President Bush has countered the statements of his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, by calling for the destruction of the terrorist infrastructure within the Palestinian Authority, we see the horrific results of the failure of implementing such a policy. Mr. Bush specifically said that Hamas was one of those organizations that should be eliminated, unfortunately, he missed the obvious. The Palestinian Authority will not dismantle Hamas, or any other terrorist organization, because the Palestinian Authority is itself a terrorist organization. President Bush may contradict his own secretary of state; however, it may be that it is Colin Powell who speaks the language that the Palestinian Authority understands.



Secretary Powell foolishly believes that if he expresses the notion that good comes from Hamas, then the PA will somehow take that to mean that the US will continue to work with them even though they continue to be a terrorist entity. Secretary Powell is wrong and President Bush is right. But President Bush must carry his doctrine to its logical conclusion. He must end his endorsement of the ?Road Map? and actively encourage the Israelis to fight terror as it ought to be fought: until it is totally destroyed.



Taking this concept to the next level, to a place where the battle will inevitably be fought, requires a little thought. More important than the physical dismantling of the terror organization is the dissection and destruction of the positions promoted by these terror groups. It should come as no surprise that, by and large, the positions of the terror groups, that is, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs? Brigade, are the same as those held by the Palestinian Authority and the Arab and Islamic nations supporting them. The very same entity with which Israeli leaders now engage in dialogue and talks of the future are no more than the terror masters themselves. Is it absurd that Israel now deals with those who plan their annihilation? Well, indeed it is, and yet for lack of any better alternative, short of war, that is what they do.



The question must be asked, then: would not war, though horrific, not be quicker and more humane than this drawn out bloodletting? Of course, it would.



On a day when terror spread from Baghdad to Jerusalem, the leaders who genuinely understand that the War on Terror is not a silly euphemism meant to represent a spiritual quest must unequivocally state that war is entered not by choice, but by necessity. The War on Terror is just that: a war. What part of ?War on Terror? do certain people in the White House, the US State Department or for that matter, the Israeli cabinet, fail to grasp? The more concessions given to the terrorists or their terror masters, the more terror will result. As proof, we no longer need to reach back into history. Take a look at last week?s newspaper and rest assured that terror will never end until those who support terror are completely eliminated.



Whether in Iraq or Israel the prescription is the same. Those responsible must be destroyed. And as for Hamas, who committed the murderous atrocity on the streets of Jerusalem, along with those who give aid and comfort to them, they must be eradicated. Once we understand that the goals and tactics of the terrorists are shared by others who wear the mask of peace, we will then gain access to those who pull the strings. Only by searching out terror from its deeply rooted, ideologically based support system, will the real criminals be exposed. This means the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia must also be guilty, along with the 29-year-old Arab who viciously ended the lives of those innocent Jews and permanently maimed countless others on a Jerusalem bus.



Dore Gold, a senior advisor to Ariel Sharon, stated on Fox News on the day of the terrorist atrocity, that ?the attack was inevitable.? Gold said that because the Palestinian Authority failed to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas and others, the terrorists were going to continue their bloody, murderous assaults. Why, then, did Israel agree to any aspects of the ?Road Map?? Why did those murdered on the Jerusalem bus have to die? How many Jewish bodies are needed to constitute absolute certainty that the enemies of the Jewish State are hell-bent on its obliteration?



The morbid lesson of a bloody day of terror is that war, and only war, will provide the answer to the unyielding violence of the Arab/Islamic terrorists. And should the nations that now form the infrastructure of support for these criminals not find regime change from within, then they too should be the focus of the liberator?s gun.



Perhaps politically required restraints now hinder President Bush?s full articulation of this position. Be that as it may, eventually this realization will have to become the next logical extension of the Bush Doctrine.