So, in the mind of this author, an 8-year old boy in intensive care, having lost one leg, is not physical harm? How about the children blown up a few years ago on the street? Let them eat cake! The important thing is that the rich children of Ramat Aviv Gimmel- if there are any- are safe.

i said the opposit before // as who did the terror is so little in amount /but many support it // this was apear after the septemper attack / and the war on terror was to fight the supporters in the m e and in afghanistan // but the success is not apear // simply it is difficult to control the feelings of the people when the danger is a real one not a fake one // sure the rapid comunication make it real to evry one but the education do little to elimenate a real fear

If anything causes fear, it is the impression that we are helpless. A gov't. that does nothing much but make endless speeches most of which contain nothing but slogans & spin contributes to the sense of helplessness. The unresponsiveness of our political system accentuates this phenomenon. We are a strong, resiliant, & resourceful people - we can withstand almost anything except the terrible feeling that we are helpless against our enemies. Since Oslo, this feeling of helplessness has overwhelmed the country creating alienation from the political system, apathy, & denial. A little leadership would go a long way ......

While it is true that terror is primarilly a psychological weapon, the physical impact should not be minimized. It is the government's duty to protect its citizens, first and foremost, physically. Unfortunately, this is not, and has not been done for a matter of years. Psychological support, while useful, is no substitute for that. Unfortunately, one gets the feeling that either our leadership does not understand this (we support those in S'Derot, etc.) or inacable of taking responsible action, or both.

The author is mixed up and his thesis is illogical. While many Kassams cause no physical damage, some do and evidenced by the horrific injury to the 8 year old boy. Writers like the author of this article do a tremendous disservice to the residents of Sderot by minimizing the horror of continuous and relentless bombing as well as proclaiming that the IDF is powerless to stop the rockets. It is a fact that the residents of Israel have become numb. They see polls showing the vast majority of the popuoation want this government out yet they do not demonstrate becaus they are told that another govt might be worse. They see the selfish and corrupt representatives only caring about themselves or their own constituency and ignoring the plight of those that have been shot at over 4000 times by rockets launched from Gaza. They also see the corruptness of the Winograd commision- a group that tempered its recommendations because of political considerations. Worst of all, the population has lost faith in the IDF. They saw a technologically superior army full of brave soldiers lose a war against a small and dug-in group of terrorists because of the incompetence and,arrogance, and timidity of the political and military leadership. They are also reminded daily by the leading media that there is no military solution and realize that the cuirrent peace process is a sham. Thus the numbness and the feeling of helplessness. It is called a national depression.

but apparently Ol' Merde thinks it's an acceptable risk...he seems to want to give up Sderot so Kadima doesn't have to worry about it. With an attitude like this, might as well give up all of Israel so Ehud & his band of corrupt leftists don't have to worry about it either.

I don't understand the current response to the rockets from Gaza. Why don't we simply fire rockets back at them? If the rocket fire from Gaza is psychologically damaging to us, what will it do to them? We should fire three rockets for every one of theirs. Let's see how they like it.

"Terrorism is the poor man’s weapon of choice because in order to cause psychological damage to the whole of society there is no need to hurt all of it" "Converting a small physical incident into a great psychological drama, which is then converted into a historic diplomatic achievement." Those two phrases have the main idea of the article and include the solution as well. Shortly the "terror "is the diplomacy of the poor and weak partner of the conflict which seems logical to same extend. The base for any peace is Justice ,this is an axiom and here there is noplace for crooked and curved phylosophy.