In the Middle East, there are few issues on which disparate groups can agree. Yet, Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, Hamas, President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu do agree on at least one thing and that is, that terrorists should be released.
American Embassies have closed throughout the Middle East as terrorists are threatening to free their imprisoned brethren.
Undoubtedly, murderers for reasons other than terrorism must be jealous of their fellow criminals as terrorists get released, and they must stay imprisoned. Indeed, killing pays.
Whether through jail breaks, court proceedings, or "peace negotiations" the terrorists are winning. One wonders what happened to the good old days of not giving into terror?
Let’s review only the Year 2013 in a region which is often dominated by the past:
-In Iraq, Al-Qaeda broke 600 of their fighters out of jail, including those who had previously been convicted to death. There were simultaneous, well coordinated attacks at two different jails.
-In Libya, 1200 inmates escaped from Koyfiya prison and remain at large.
-In Pakistan, at a jail in Dera Ismail Khan, 250 terrorists escaped in an attack which intelligence reports say insiders assisted in the jailbreak.
- In Egypt, when Muhammad Morsi served as President, he was quick to issue pardons for 572 terrorists including leaders of Islamic Jihad. Among those released were the brother of the current head of Al-Qaeda, who himself is also a terrorist leader.
And, in America, President Obama released five Guantanamo Bay Taliban detainees as a gesture for the resumption of peace talks in Afghanistan.
A recent edition of Newsweek reports that Obama remains focused on his plans to close Gitmo and "Among the countries who could soon start receiving Gitmo prisoners are Morocco, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia." As a senior White House official said “The president was very clear about the goal of closing Guantánamo. We are working as hard as we can and as quickly as we can to move forward, including discussions with foreign governments on possible transfers.” Indeed terrorism is rewarded.
In Israel, in the interest of "peace" Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to release over 100 terrorists for the so-called "good of the country."
One doesn’t need to be a master of spin, or own a PR Agency to wonder what sort of "deterrent" message these releases and leniency for terrorists send to terrorists.
They believe if they die in their mission as martyrs they will go to heaven and be rewarded, and if they live, they will be back home as heroes a few years later. Terrorism pays.
(This article marks the 100th op-ed by Ronn Torossian in Israel National News. If you enjoy his writing, you can connect with him on LinkedIn or Google Plus.)