No, I would not have encouraged such a response. However, realistically, I know that an aggressive response is often a leader’s first inclination. A proportionate response would have obviously been preferable to the murder and starvation of at least 60,000 people. And this isn’t just limited to Israel. After 9/11, the US would have been far better off in the long term by focusing on targeted, limited attacks on the actual perpetrators of 9/11 rather than getting involved in decades-long wars throughout the Middle East that cost us tremendously in terms of lives, dollars, and global reputation.