When Israel listens to the US and the "International Community", it is always rewarded. Israel withdrew from Gaza, and was rewarded by rockets being fired from there by Hamas. Israel withdrew from Lebanon. Last week Hezbollah rewarded Israel with an unprovoked attack on civilian population centers using over 1,000 rockets in one day.
When Israel listens to the US and the "International Community", it is always rewarded. Israel withdrew from Gaza, and was rewarded by rockets being fired from there by Hamas. Israel withdrew from Lebanon. Last week Hezbollah rewarded Israel with an unprovoked attack on civilian population centers using over 1,000 rockets in one day.
The Hezbollah attack occurred during the G-8 Summit, presumably to focus maximum attention on their ability to murder innocent civilians. Israel promptly responded by attacking Hezbollah targets (including demolishing their headquarters) in Lebanon. Instead of condemning Hezbollah or Lebanon, which allows them to operate from within its borders, our "allies," including France and Russia, condemned Israel for protecting itself.
At first I was pleased with the Bush Administration's response. Speaking from the G-8 meeting in Russia, President Bush stated that every nation has the right to defend itself from attacks. But then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confused the issue by issuing a call for Israel to "show restraint." Sending mixed messages is never in the nation's interest. In addition, Rice's statement was just plain stupid.
Imagine what would have happened if, following 9-11, Great Britain had urged the US to "show restraint." As a nation we would have been outraged by such a request. Fortunately, we had a real man in the White House, and our response to the terrorist attacks was strong.
Why, then, did Bush allow his official spokesperson to make a request that we would never honor in the same situation? We have done this before, and I am getting tired of it. When Israel was attacked by Arab Scud missiles, the US said, "Don't retaliate. We'll take care of it." What right do we have to tell a sovereign nation not to defend itself?
Now, I can hear some readers saying, "You can't compare 9-11, when 3,000 Americans were killed, to a few hundred Israelis killed by suicide bombers and rocket attacks." Really? Let me tell you a story.
In early 1997, when my wife was pregnant with our daughter Sarah, we visited Israel. Our group was scheduled to have lunch with the Mayor of Tel Aviv. Instead, he sent a representative because a national tragedy occurred hours before the luncheon. Twenty-four Israeli soldiers had died in a helicopter crash. It was explained to us that, in a nation as tiny as Israel, there was probably not one citizen that was not personally affected by that crash, either by knowing or being related to one of those who died or one of their family members.
The United States has a population approaching 300 Million. Israel's population is just over 6 Million (less than the population of New York City). Using that ratio, the deaths of 60 Israelis would have the same effect on that nation as did the deaths of 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001.
But let's look at this another way. Suppose a terrorist group like Hezbollah was being allowed to operate out of Canada or Mexico, right on our border. And suppose that group fired 1,000 rockets into US territory. Do you think that we would "show restraint" in such a situation?
Perhaps if a wimp like Bill Clinton was still in the White House. But we certainly did not "show restraint" when we went after the Taliban and cleaned out the terrorist camps in Afghanistan. And I believe that we would do the same if one of our neighbors was sheltering terrorists today. We would certainly not carpet bomb the entire nations of Canada or Mexico. But we would not hesitate to violate their sovereign territory to attack and kill the terrorist who had attacked us, just as we did not hesitate to violate Afghanistan's sovereign territory.
A nation which allows terrorists to use its territory to attack another sovereign nation should expect that nation to do whatever is necessary to prevent further such attacks. And that is exactly what Israel did when Hezbollah attacked Israel from within Lebanon. They did what the US did following 9-11, and what we would do today if one of our neighbors was protecting terrorists. They went after the killers.
"OK. You've convinced me, Tom. Israel had a right to go after Hezbollah, But why was their response so DISPROPORTIONATE? Hezbollah fired 1,000 rockets, but only killed a few Israelis in this attack. So shouldn't Israel just kill a few terrorists?"
Where did such an idiotic idea come from? I hear it on the news every day. Talking heads who live in safe condos with security guards pontificate about how Israeli citizens, whose lives are in danger every minute of every day, should respond to terrorist attacks.
Just because Hezbollah had lousy aim this time doesn't mean that they won't improve. The fools in the liberal media would have Israel count their dead after every suicide bombing of missile attack, and then limit themselves to killing that number of terrorists in a sort of eternal tit for tat. NO! Israel should use every weapon in their arsenal short of nuclear ones to wipe out every terrorist they can locate in Lebanon, just as the US has done in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Let me ask you a question. If a snake bit and killed one of your children, would you locate the snake nest and kill one snake? Of course not! You would kill every one you could find, because the ones you left could kill your other children.
What should the response of the US be to this situation? It is clear that the fighting could escalate to the point where the entire Middle East could be involved. Should we use our economic and military might to force Israel to back off? That's what the Democrats want. Then we could have "peace" in the Middle East again; at least until the next unprovoked terrorist attack on our ally.
Our only course of action is obvious to me. Lebanon is weak. It has been a puppet state of Syria for decades. The US should offer to help Lebanon rid itself of Hezbollah once and for all. Most of the Lebanese people want Hezbollah out, but they are afraid of them.
Israel has chosen the proper course. They have not attacked Lebanon; they have attacked Hezbollah. This is evidenced by the fact that Beirut is not in a panic. Although there are fewer people on the streets, business continues pretty much a usual in the capital city of Lebanon. This shows that the Lebanese realize Israel is not after them. Israel's surgical strikes have all been directed at Hezbollah targets and assets (such as the airport and certain bridges and highways) that Hezbollah could use to harm Israel.
We should partner with Israel in this extermination operation instead of chiding them. After all, they are only doing what we would do, and what have done in the past.
Finally, we should always remember God's word, which speaks of the nation Israel in Genesis 12:3 in this way: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse."
Dr. Tom Barrett has been an ordained minister for 30 years. He has written for local and national publications for most of his life, and has authored several non-fiction books. He has been interviewed on many TV and radio programs, and speaks at seminars nationwide. Tom is the editor and publisher of Conservative Truth, an email newsletter read by over fifty thousand weekly which focuses on moral and political issues from a Biblical viewpoint.
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