A Battle for Sand and Rocks

The deaths of civilians is "collateral damage and a necessity of war." That sentence will, no doubt, raise the hackles on some of the more peaceful among you. Some are certain, given the recent events in Lebanon, that the statement must be a precursor to a defense of Israel's actions regarding Hezbollah. Well, you would only be half right. The quote comes from the website of one Mohammed al-Massari, a Saudi who established the Committee for Defense of Legitimate Rights in London. On the website he justified the assassination of President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. He also called for attacks on coalition forces and "apostate" Muslims who helped them in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is these "civilians," amongst others, that he considers collateral damage and a necessity of war. Al-Massari has claimed that the CDLR is the "ideological voice" of Al-Qaeda. It is then, that statement which leads me back to my defense of Israel's recent actions, and the extraordinary restraint the Israeli Defence Forces have shown.

Over the course of the last 10 years Israel has bargained land for peace in good conscience. Under President Clinton's administration Yassar Arafat was the most common guest in the White House. Several Israeli Prime Ministers negotiated ever broadening truces, which culminated in the dismantling of West Bank settlements by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon, himself a veteran and architect of multiple campaigns against united Arab armies intent on wiping Israel from the map, oversaw these operations, apparently believing the time had come for peace between the nation of Israel and its Arab neighbors. Unfortunately, Hezbollah, Hamas and their nation-state sponsors, Iran and Syria, saw this as an opportunity to once and for all remove Israel from existence. Suicide bombings proliferated in Israeli cities, rockets, provided by Iran, rained down on Israeli cities and, as the Jewish death toll mounted, the terrorist organizations rearmed themselves for the coming struggle. For at least the last eight years Hezbollah, which translates as the Party of God, has been refitted with modern armament through Iranian and Syrian complicity.

It is then that Israel showed its remarkable restraint. They, like most of us, want to see the good in people. The dismantling of the West Bank settlements was a divisive issue in Israel. It pitted friends and neighbors against each other, but finally the divisiveness had somewhat ameliorated. At that point Hezbollah, a terrorist organization in root and deed, made itself known. Members of Hezbollah kidnapped two IDF soldiers and demanded that Israel release scores of political prisoners or the soldiers would be summarily executed. Hezbollah referenced Al-Qaeda actions in Iraq, and elsewhere, as to what would befall the soldiers were their demands not met. Israel then, having no other option in my opinion, began to rain the proverbial fire and brimstone down upon suspected Hezbollah strongholds. At the time of this writing airstrikes have continued unabated for twelve days. IDF armor and infantry have massed on Lebanon's border with intentions of taking the fight to those entrenched elements of Hezbollah who have so desperately sought this confrontation. Israel has demanded that the two soldiers, plus another recently kidnapped, be returned, or Hezbollah will face the consequences.

As a former infantryman I was reminded of a speech given by my First Sergeant. In it he affirmed that although he could not promise we would all come back from any deployment alive, we would all come home. For those who have never served this most seem somehow.....less than comforting, but to a soldier, an infantryman who recognizes death may visit him, this is great comfort indeed. It is, in fact, the highest comfort we can expect. We will sacrifice any number of ourselves so that our fallen brethren can return home with us, even if that means they come home in a flag-draped casket. Israel, as a nation, is exercising that discipline. They have promised to never desert their citizens, soldier or otherwise, no matter the cost. In this response, Lebanese civilians have, undoubtedly, been killed. None were targeted, and most were being used as shields of one sort or another by men such as Al-Massari. Even the venerated BBC has recently reported that "it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate Hezbollah from legitimate civilians." The Lebanese people have suffered from Israeli airstrikes, which have rendered their power stations and airports unusable. Meanwhile, Syria and Iran, who could stop the bloodshed with one message to Hezbollah, have beat their chests and demanded that the suffering of the poor Lebanese cease immediately. All the while, Israeli soldiers remain in terrorist captivity. One wonders if they are being afforded the much publicized abuse detainees at Guantanamo receive. I somehow doubt that the Islamists are allowing them to pray unmolested, eat kosher food, or observe the Jewish Sabbath.

As an American of Irish descent many would say I have no dog in this fight. I beg to differ. I see this as just more of the same in the unraveling of the Islamist desire to world domination. They will not stop until sharia law rules in every country in which Muslims live. Not all Muslims support this obviously, but all too many do. It is these Muslims, and their logistical supporters, that must be brought to justice, and I do not mean the sympathetic justice of The Hague. No, they must be brought to the only form of justice they understand: they must be ruthlessly hunted down and exterminated. Only then, can the supposedly moderate Muslims, who we have all heard so much about, be free to raise their children in safety and peace. The only countries in the Middle East where Muslims can freely vote and exercise democracy are Iraq, Afghanistan and, yes, Israel. It is time for all the Muslims who truly want peace to stand up and cast off the bonds of Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, Iran and Syria. It is time for them to extend a hand to the democracies of the West, and that means Israel too. I am currently wearing a "Blue String" around my wrist. I received it from a website called www.iloveisrael.org. It symbolizes my support for Israel, now and forever. When these strings, thin and somewhat tenuous, begin to appear on Lebanese civilians arms I will consider their plight differently. Otherwise, I can only consider them complicit, in the same way the citizens of Tokyo were complicit when we firebombed the city during World War II. The moderate Muslims have done nothing to stop western civilian deaths at the hands of these monsters masquerading as both an army and a political party. Until they do I will support Israel and can only hope that you will too.