WAIT. ISN'T THAT title redundant?

Walter Williams is a syndicated columnist. Is he truly a neo-con? I don't know. But he certainly steals some of their myopic concepts.

Moreover, Williams is typical of the simple-mindedness that dominates the media and politics when it comes to the Middle East.

In a recent column, Williams said if America is attacked by terrorists then we should bomb all Arab countries in response.

To back up his theories, Williams did some far-reaching experiments on some of his college students. Williams penalizes a student five percent of his or her grade if a cell phone rings in class. To insure hegemony over his class, Williams also drops the grades of students who sit around the offending student.

Williams proudly says the phones have stopped ringing. He's obviously clueless in his class and his thinking. The students have adapted and turned their phones to vibrate.

Williams then ties his classroom observances to the writings of Victor Hanson, a fellow at the Hoover Institution. Williams writes that Hanson instructs the United States government to hold Arab states "responsible if they're proven to have aided or sheltered the terrorists. Holding the country responsible would mean that, in response to an attack, we'd totally destroy their military bases, power plants, communication facilities and, if necessary, totally destroy their major cities."

Unfortunately, too many Americans will raise their fists and shout, "What a great plan!"

Look at what he says carefully. You will see it's short-sighted and it's the same thinking that has us in this complicated mess where more than three thousand Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died.

First, Williams is an inept writer. "Totally destroy" is redundant. Sorry, Professor, "total" is already implied in the word "destroy." A first year journalism student would be flunked for that.

Second, Williams compares his students to Arab countries. Again, this is the height of American arrogance. Williams and many others think we should treat Arab countries like they're our students. We instruct them on how to govern and live their lives. Somehow, I think our failed lessons on democracy are not winning hearts and minds in the Middle East.

Third, Williams says this threat of a scorched earth retaliation kept America safe from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Clearly, Williams has no concept of who the enemy really is. We're not fighting governments; we're fighting tribes under no government. Tom Friedman, in his book Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism, tells us that Islamist terrorists don't cherish life; killing us and themselves is their goal. But the old Soviet Union, as totalitarian as they were, still loved life as we do—and thus never pushed the nuclear button.

The truth is, Professor, we won the Cold War by using a patient form of containment—and not bombing attacks—that eventually led to the Soviet system collapsing on its own.

Furthermore, Williams' thinking is dangerous. It only drives the moderates in these Arab states closer to the terrorists or at least to maintain their silence about the terrorists.

Certainly, many of these Arab rulers are despots and need to be toppled. Yes, they do very little to help their people while they enjoy the spoils of an oil economy. Is that our concern? In some respects, yes it is. We do business with them to help our economy, while at the same time these Arab leaders do business with the terrorists and mullahs to stay in power.

Another omission of Williams is our mistakes. I'm no supporter of Iran, but you need to understand some of their actions of late. Iran helped us overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan right after 9/11. They offered us use of their airspace. What did we do in return? We called them part of the Axis of Evil.

Williams also fails to notice that teaching these Arab states a lesson through bomb attacks doesn't bring peace. I'm not saying we should let down our guard against these nefarious elements. I'm saying we need to emphasize how we are perceived by the masses of Middle Easterners who remain quiet.

Fortunately, our military leaders understand this now. Take a look at my posting of December 26, 2006 johndaly.tv/blog/blogdetail.aspx?blogid=52.

I write about an article in the New Yorker about an Australian Army Captain, David Kilcullen, now working for the U.S. Army. He outlines for author George Packer how to beat an insurgency.

Kilcullen tells Packer: "Know the people, the topography, history, religion, and culture. Know every village, road, field, population group, tribal leader and ancient grievances. Your task is to become the world expert on your district."

Clearly, in some parts of Iraq, according to reports, this is working. However, you don't hear any of that in the words of people like Walter Williams.

Williams' short-sighted thinking comes at a critical time, too. The United States is actually involved in negotiations with Iran over Iraq and the many other issues in the Middle East. Look at the many characters, tribes, and governments in this region who can make or break a chance for peace.

Clearly, two of the biggest obstacles to peace in the region are the neo-cons in our government and the extremist mullahs running the Iranian government. People like Walter Williams only feed these extremist, dangerous elements.