In the glory days of my Buffalo Bills football team, when they went to the Superbowl for four straight years, their strategy was rather simple: the best defense is a good offense. And so, with their "shotgun offense" under the great Hall-of-Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, the Bills piled on the yards both in the air and on the ground. Despite having never won the big one yet, for those four years, they were the winningest team around. Offense was the key, Coach Marv Levy maintained. (Levy, by the way, remains one of the very few

It totally boggles my mind when it comes to the current Israeli government's strategy.

Jewish coaches or managers in professional football.)


The opposite strategy says that the best offense is a good defense. My baseball coach in high school echoed this notion. He told us that it was tough to win games by scores of 16-15. But we could always win the close ones if we have a solid fielding, defensive team. Then, he argued, we wouldn't need so much "fire power" from the plate. Defense was the key.


After playing baseball and watching my Bills, I decided that you really had to have both elements to be a contender. You needed to score and you needed to stop the other guys.


It totally boggles my mind when it comes to the current Israeli government's strategy in dealing with the so-called Palestinians. Ehud Olmert and company have neither defense nor offense, which, in any game plan, is a sure formula for losing. They continue this misguided approach of appeasement, something that has never worked with folks who live by violence and terrorism.


Even if the Israelis, or Olmert, are sincere in their desire to live side-by-side in peace, the other side doesn't quite see it this way. They perceive a "peace" deal as, in fact, a "piece" deal. To any card-carrying member of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas or Hizbullah or Al-Qaeda, or whatever wacko label is being thrown around, appeasement is a sure sign of weakness. To them, it spells victory.


They sent in enough rockets to make the Israelis give back yet even more land. And so, on it goes. Israel gives, the Palestinians take and inch closer and closer to their ultimate dream of "liberating" all of Palestine. The Arabs have been so brainwashed that they know only hatred, racism and violence. Their creed has been one of "by any means necessary."


The latest offer that Olmert seems to be toying with borders not only on the absurd, but I think even a totally objective observer would it describe as, in one word, suicidal. Rumors have it that he may be offering a linkup between Gaza and the West Bank, a lot more "in between" land, and redividing good ol' Jerusalem. This in not just throwing out the baby with the bathwater. This is throwing out the entire house with the bath water. He might as well give every Israeli citizen a gun with instructions: "Put to head and pull trigger." Why make 'em suffer with the slow death process of giving more and more land to sworn enemies?

This in not just throwing out the baby with the bathwater. This is throwing out the entire house with the bath water.



The US knows it's fighting a war against terrorism. When we've had to, we've taken it to our enemies, in their own territory, sometimes going thousands of miles away from our home turf to stop these idiots in their tracks. It's a tough fight and one that we didn't start. And it's also a fight that we've got to finish. This is one we simply cannot afford to lose. But, unlike Olmert and pretty much every recent Israeli government, the US has been beefing up both on defense and on offense.


Remember that old saying about good intentions paving the path to hell? Olmert can't make the so-called Palestinians into loving, caring, warm neighbors just by wishing them to be so. Peace deals only work when both parties actively participate. It has to be give and take from both sides. The only thing the Israelis have ever gotten from their neighbors has been a wonderful list of the following: suicide bombers; murders; kidnappings; rocket attacks; roadside bombs, etc. And yet, each Israeli government has outdone its predecessor by offering up more on the chopping block. It is a maneuver that has only served to strengthen Israel's enemies and bring them closer and closer to the very heartland of the small country.


And so, one cannot help but ask a profound question about this latest Olmert offering: Huh?


It's almost as if I'm back on my high school baseball team and the other side simple lays down and quits. No, that ridiculous scenario never happened, but it does seem to be playing out before our very eyes in Israel's political arena.


What should Israel do in light of the beefing-up of Hizbullah on the north? (So much for United Nations protection, by the way.) And in light of the constant rocket attacks from Gaza - remember that big chunk of land that was given back in the name of peace? And the threats from Syria? And the wonderful country of Iran, steamrolling towards nuclear power? It's hardly the time to throw in the towel, Mr. Olmert, unless you personally plan on stepping down. It's time for Israel to do what any decent NFL team does - strengthen the defense and the offense.


There is no excuse for patiently waiting out rocket attacks from Gaza day after day. If it doesn't stop, then Israel needs to stop it. It means sending in the IAF followed by the IDF to either clear out a safe corridor, or clean up shop and take it all back. Trust me on this one. If a group of people was advocating the overthrow of the US from Mexico or Canada, and they were sending in bombers and rockets every day, we'd have eliminated them a long, long time ago. No other country on the planet would or should tolerate such open acts of violence on its borders against its citizens.


So, too with the north of Israel. As most of us in the United States know, it's not too healthy to trust one's well being to the UN. They continue to prove how ineffective they

There is no excuse for patiently waiting out rocket attacks from Gaza day after day.

are, whether it's Darfur or Lebanon. Hizbullah ignores their very presence and has been actively building up weaponry and bunkers - all in violation of the UN's decisions. Israel needs to admit that pulling out of southern Lebanon, like Gaza, was another decision of folly, one that was intended to bring about peace but actually brought about the opposite. The only way to keep these loonies at bay, at least far enough away that they don't harm Israel's citizens, is the fear factor. The love bug hasn't worked too well with them.


Face it, Israel. The Arab-Muslim countries don't like it one bit that you've beaten them in all the wars since 1948. They're not thrilled to see you prosper and grow. And they'd like nothing better than to see you vacate the premise. Unfortunately for Israel, Olmert et al. seem to be slowly but surely complying with the pressure. Thus, the Israeli citizens themselves may need to do for themselves what their own government has proven unwilling or incapable of doing - providing security and protection. While this revolution may not come in the form of a military coup, it should definitely happen at the ballots and in the political forum. Israel needs to elect proud leaders, defenders of the Jewish people and legacy. With the wolves sniffing blood, we better hope that this happens soon.