"They are afraid"

Read about Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the United Jewish Communities of America

Like a good propagandist, Mr. Netanyahu drove his message of fear home in the same manner as Mr. Bush et alia have been doing during the past five years: by portraying the Muslim world as freedom-hating savages bent on the destruction of Israel and the Western world.

Like a good propagandist, Mr. Netanyahu failed to mention to his people that many of their homes sit atop razed Arab villages, and that the primary reason organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah exist is that they view Israel, the state, as the bastion of white imperialism in the region.

Like a good propagandist, Mr. Netanyahu made no mention of the fact that, while Iran struggles to develop a single functioning nuclear weapon, the government of Israel is a cheque away from acquiring a stockpile of the latest line of such weapons from Lockheed Martin.

It's unfortunate that the citizens of Israel have to live in constant fear, and it's even worse that this fear is perpetuated by the very people who are supposed to be looking after them. As long as Mr. Netanyahu maintains his swagger, and as long as Mr. Olmert launches assaults on civilians, the people of Israel will have even more reason to be afraid. Attack my position if you will, but I only say this because, when a nation with the largest military presence on the planet on its side beats the war drums, I become fearful of the consequences.

The title couldn't have summed things up better:

"They are afraid."