Practitioners of a religion of peace

Open Season:

A bombing and a failed missile attack on a civilian plane point to a widening war without rules.

It was the day before Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, and the Paradise Hotel off the coast of Kenya was packed with Israeli vacationers. Justine Mundu, a watchman, had been on duty for two and a half hours when a green Mitsubishi Pajero made a screeching turn into the main gate. The crash shattered the car bomb’s windshield, but its occupants just “drove on,” Mundu said. “Three seconds later I heard the explosion.” Another witness, David Kilonzi, said, “I saw the hotel roof blown off.” Moments after the blast, some witnesses also reported seeing a light aircraft fly over the hotel, dropping clusters of small bombs that incinerated some remaining rooms on the seaward side. The Israeli-owned hotel was soon a smoking ruin--a bright orange inferno set against the deep blue Indian Ocean, the white sand and rustling green palms.

Don't forget, we're supposed to understand and relate to the issues that cause such desperate actions.