Jonah, I think that I might draw somewhat different conclusions than you do you. As I wrote yesterday, there’s no need to shed any tears over Yassin. Nevertheless, when we look at his killing, it’s necessary to ask again what it has achieved. The idea, reported by Steve, that it was designed to make it clear that an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was not a ‘retreat,’ is, alas, both plausible and deeply disturbing. Macho gestures are no substitute for an effective policy. Frankly, it’s difficult to think that Yassin’s death will do anything other than further ‘Islamicize’ Palestinian militants, something that al Qaeda is, as we have seen, already trying to manipulate to its own advantage. This can’t be good for Israel and it also raises the question as to whether yesterday’s action has added to the threats facing the US. Of course there should be no illusions, Hamas was not exactly a friend of America before yesterday. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the boost that Yassin’s death is likely to give to Al Qaeda and others on the Islamic extreme is bad news for the US. Given that fact it is entirely reasonable for this country, a very generous supporter of Israel after all, to query what has been done. That’s not appeasement, it’s commonsense.