RA'ANANA, Israel -- Ever stop and ask why supposedly bright people say silly things?

In Israel, where suicide terrorists target and kill people on the way to school, in the street and in their beds, people are at their wits' end trying to understand why some people don't see what is obvious to most Israelis.

British First Lady Cherie Blair, an intelligent and articulate woman described by the BBC as a "top-flight barrister," said recently that Palestinians who commit suicide attacks "feel they have got no hope but to blow themselves up."

CNN founder Ted Turner also weighed in on the matter. "The Israelis ... they've got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. The Palestinians have nothing. So who are the terrorists? I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism." This from the man who described the Sept. 11 hijackers as "brave."

But terrorists don't care what anyone thinks. They care only about their goals.

So long as some in the free world continue to obfuscate what terror is really about, terror will continue. The flawed and inconsistent diplomatic logic of the Middle East is the perfect example.

The Palestinians have been trying for years to establish a state, with much of the world, led by Europe and the United Nations, endorsing this goal. As terror against Israelis increased, calls continued for Israel to withdraw and allow a Palestinian state to be established.

Well, if you were a terrorist, what would you say?

Maybe you'd say what Hamas spokesman Ismail Abu Shanab said: "If we have an effective weapon in our hands and the whole world is trying to take it off us, this kind of reaction shows it to be the most effective way."

Only when terrorists sense that their goals are in danger do they stop and think. Yasser Arafat understands this. In a "condemnation" last week, he said, "We will take further actions to stop such harmful terror mainly to our cause, especially at a time when all the world is favoring our rights in establishing the independent Palestinian state."

It's not the terror that bothers him; it's the potential harm to the political goal, that is, a Palestinian state.

While Israel continues as the free world's testing ground for terrorism, President Bush called Monday for a new Palestinian leadership. What he failed to note, however, is the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre poll finding this month that more than 70 percent of the Palestinian population justifies "operations" (a euphemism for terror attacks) as "a suitable response within the current political conditions."

The Palestinian people need to believe that the president wants an end to terror more than he wants an independent Palestinian state. Terror is ultimately a political weapon, with political goals and targets. If Palestinians hear that escalating terror and attaining political goals are incompatible, but see a plan for political progress despite the fact that terror continues, they may misinterpret Mr. Bush's message.

Israelis see news clips of Palestinian mothers blessing and kissing their children goodbye as they depart to blow themselves up in the name of Allah. Leaders may change, but will they change popular attitudes that support and glorify terror?

While Palestinian terror increases, attitudes are hardening. Palestinian poll data show a majority concerned less with the "occupation" and more with eliminating Israel.

Israelis are rethinking their own goals. They are looking to separate and build a wall between themselves and their Palestinian neighbors. Although the wall provides a psychological sense of security, most experts agree that it won't eliminate the terror.

With about 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, only a tiny percentage need to be recruited and to succeed as suicide bombers in order to terrorize Israel. Only 19 hijackers were needed to shake America's foundation and forever change the way we look at an airplane gliding across a city skyline.

President Bush's commitment to fight terror is clear, but unless his zero-tolerance logic is adopted by the rest of the free world, the reasoning of those who support terror will not change. Whether Mr. Bush's vision can ever turn into reality remains to be seen.

Witness Dr. Adel Sadeq, chairman of the Arab Psychiatrists Association. Dr. Sadeq, a recipient of the 1990 Egyptian State Prize, once called President Bush "stupid" and said, "The psychological structure [of the perpetrator of a suicide attack] is that of an individual who loves life."

Those who think otherwise, says Dr. Sadeq, do so because their "cultural structure" offers "stupid interpretations."

Irwin J. Mansdorf, a psychologist living in Israel, heads the Israel Citizens Information Council. He has studied and lectured on the psychological aspects of terrorism.