Global
Israel versus the World
The international community’s appeasement of terror
By Kerry Eskenas
Posted on 07/30/06
The reaction of the international community to Israel’s defensive war against Hamas and Hezbollah was all too predictable. Israel, along with the United States, understands that it is time to act in a strategic rather than diplomatic manner. Israel has already compromised with terrorists a number of times — most notably, the surrendering of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank last summer. Yet the countries that blame Hamas and Hezbollah for instigating this war, with the exception of the United States, do not back up their rhetoric with support for Israel’s military response. The world’s constant calls for “restraint” by Israel as it works to defend its land and people from terrorists — which, it should be noted, are integral parts of neighboring nations’ elected governments — prove what Israel has long suspected: successfully winning over world opinion cannot protect Israel from the terrorist threat. As one Israeli soldier said, “If we don’t defend Israel, who will?” Israel must disregard world opinion and do what any other state would do in the event of attack. Namely, Israel must respond to these acts of war and crush Hamas and Hezbollah with force so that these threats are eliminated. A small-scale response in which these terrorist organizations are allowed to survive would only bring greater conflict in the future, when these terrorists build their strength up beyond the current level and determine that they are ready to attack Israel once again.
Terrorists cannot be dealt with leniently because they have the ultimate goal of destroying Israel and will settle for nothing less. Such extremists have shown that their hatred for Israel even surpasses their desire for the Palestinians and the Lebanese, who they claim to be acting on behalf of, to live in prosperity and peace. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, proudly announced amidst hundreds of Lebanese casualties that Hezbollah survived the initial Israeli attacks unharmed. In his statement, Nasrallah had no concern for the suffering that his organization had brought upon the Lebanese population by committing acts of war — namely, the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and the unprovoked launching of rockets into Israel.
The intention of extremists to settle for nothing less than the total destruction of Israel can be observed in their irrationality when it comes to diplomatic efforts. Demanding the release of hundreds or thousands of imprisoned terrorists in exchange for a few captured Israeli soldiers is so blatantly unfair that it was obvious from the start that Israel would never agree to such terms. The terrorists are not stupid. They are quite aware that Israel or any other country in that situation would never make that type of concession — but they want the world to believe that they have “attempted diplomacy” and that Israel has resorted to force without giving that so-called diplomacy a chance.
Terrorists need to be given credit for one thing: they are much better at propagandizing their cause than the Israelis. Their public relations success is seen everyday on the news. It is stunning, but true — terrorists have convinced many people that Israel is inhumane and undiplomatic, and that Hamas and Hezbollah have made serious attempts at diplomacy and have not inflicted very much damage on Israeli civilians. The entire demand for Israel to have a “proportional response” is based on this terrorist propaganda. Terrorists know that a “proportional response” from Israel would give them a better chance of defeating Israel even though Israel has a stronger military capability. Why should Israel not use its full military capability to defeat those who aim to eliminate its existence? The idea that Israel should not respond with full force to acts of war is irrational. Hamas and Hezbollah both realize that they are unable to inflict the sort of damage on Israel that Israel is inflicting on their organizations — but if they were able to, the world has to understand that they would use whatever capability was available to them.
With Iran on the verge of developing nuclear capability and Hezbollah terrorists acting as proxy fighters for Iran, it is a now-or-never situation for Israel. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s earlier promise that Israel would be “annihilated by one storm” supports former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s statement: “We are in the early stages of World War III.” It seems that there are striking parallels between the calls for appeasement of Hitler before World War II and the world’s insistence on “restraint” and “diplomacy” in response to the threat of terrorism today. This type of an enemy cannot be appeased, and the use of restraint against terrorism will do nothing to avoid such a conflict. However, a tough response right now will prevent terrorists from gaining the upper hand in such a conflict.
The world needs to understand that this is a very broad situation. Israel is not only defending itself, but it is also defending the United States and other Western nations. It has been reported that Hezbollah sleeper cells in the United States have been called upon to plan for attacks against Americans. In addition, al Qaeda has called upon all Muslims to join in the “holy war” taking place against Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah. It has been reported that a number of Iranian students are heeding this call and joining the fighting in Lebanon. In other words, this is not just Israel’s battle — and the world needs to understand what the broad implications of an unsuccessful Israel would be. Calling for Israel to have a “proportional response” is not a suggestion that is conducive to Israel’s success in this conflict.
It was recently reported that Israel killed four U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon during one of its attacks. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, was quick to label the attack as “deliberate” on the part of Israel. Even beyond making such a hasty judgment, Annan should realize that the claim that Israel actually aimed to kill the four U.N. peacekeepers is truly insane. Is Annan claiming that Israel wants a war with the United Nations? Yet Annan’s statement was certainly typical and expected — the international community never gives Israel a fair hearing. This situation is reminiscent of the attack on Palestinians at a Gaza beach last month. Not only was the world quick to blame Israel for “intentionally” attacking these Palestinian civilians, but it turned out that Palestinian militants may have actually planted the explosives hoping to harm Israeli soldiers using the beach to enter Gaza. Yet the international community reached its verdict before a full investigation could take place. A few days after the recent attack on the U.N. post, it was reported that one of the U.N. peacekeepers had sent an e-mail describing their location as “swarming with Hezbollah fighters.” An investigation of the incident is now beginning, yet the leader of the United Nations has already announced his final judgment — and it is, predictably, against Israel.
The calls for Israel to “exercise restraint” in its military operations are proof of the absurdity of world opinion toward Israel. If by “restraint” it is meant that Israel should minimize civilian casualties, then it should be noted that Israel is more careful than any other country in war. Unlike terrorists, who actually aim to kill Israeli civilians, Israel warns civilians to leave areas that it plans to attack. It is extremely difficult to protect civilians in this conflict because Hamas and Hezbollah are hiding their weapons and fighters among the civilian population — basically using civilians as human shields. Israel is doing the best that it can do in the given circumstances. Eliminating all civilian casualties would require Israel to not respond at all to provocative attacks on its territory. Every state has the right and duty to defend itself, and Israel is not an exception. There is unavoidably collateral damage in any war, but Israel did not instigate this war and its military takes many precautions to minimize civilian casualties. The same cannot be said of the other side of this conflict, yet the media has not yet called upon the terrorists to “exercise restraint” against Israeli civilians.
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