Live by the Toy, Die by the Toy (hat tip Defense Tech)
According to DEBKA
Last month, Palestinian toy importers in Jerusalem and Ramallah were told to order hundreds of these toys [remote control planes] for distribution to Palestinian children in hospitals. Subsidies from European Union member-governments could legitimately be allocated to this humanitarian purpose.The model airplanes were purchased in Europe and shipped quite openly to the Palestinian shopkeepers.
According to our sources, not a single toy reached an injured Palestinian child. The model planes were sent to Palestinian workshops for conversion into miniature air bombers with explosive payloads. Tanzim militiamen from Arafat’s Fatah, sent out to open areas near Jericho to test the new weapons, discovered they could fly to a distance of 1 kilometer and an altitude of 300 meters. The only problem was how to guide the plane to target inside an Israeli built-up area when it was no longer visible to the remote control holder. A small adjustment was made in the engine enabling him to cut it out from a distance, so that it dropped to the ground and blew up.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
According to Hamas, the men were working on a pilotless aircraft, a radio controlled flying bomb, when they were targeted by an Israeli hit squad.While it's unclear whether the men were the victims of their own bomb or an Israeli hit, it is known that one of those who died was Nidal Farahat, accused by Israel of helping to develop the Qassam rockets used in a number of attacks on Israel over the past year.
Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, confirmed that the government was aware of the plan to build flying bombs.
I hope my European readers see how their taxes are being used and complain to their leaders. I also think the idea of using remote controlled planes as bombs is unfortunately going to spread. They are cheap and simple devices that can be easily mastered by those without technical training. This is yet another example of why the war on terrorism is so important. In a free and modern society, there is no way to completely defend yourself from a determined attacker and remain free. Our options are to become a police state (unacceptable), live in fear for the rest of our lives (unacceptable), or keep the terrorists on the run until they decide terrorism doesn’t work.
