But these deaths are of something foreign, and so cannot be the subject of fear. Such things can be discussed in terms of strategy—Will the wholesale murder of tens of thousands of kids prove a tactical blunder? Is the child who had to bury every member of his family now a future threat? Will Hamas benefit?—but the violence that might otherwise inspire true fear is ultimately happening to an insect, and what fool gives credence to an insect’s thoughts on its own swatting?
