JINSA Report #582 Chickens Have Wings; Governments Have Partners in Crime

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July 12, 2006

JINSA Report #582

Chickens Have Wings; Governments Have Partners in Crime

We've written often about the symbiosis between terrorists and
governments - each has resources the other needs to be effective.
Terrorists receive money and sanctuary from governments. Governments
have found plausible deniability for mayhem by blaming "terrorist
wings." Arafat was the grand master of it and the American government
would inevitably take the bait, intoning that "terrorists" should not be
allowed to derail the "peace process."

After 9-11, President Bush announced a new policy - governments that
harbored terrorists were themselves terrorist, subject to retaliation.
It worked in Afghanistan.

The election of a Hamas government in the Palestinian Authority prompted
a flash of horror from the U.S. and the EU, but when two soldiers were
killed and a third kidnapped from inside Israel in June, the "military
wing" of Hamas claimed credit and the "political wing" of Hamas was
begged for "assistance". The Washington Post editorialized that it was
"time for Hamas to prove" that it was a responsible governing partner by
severing its association with its own terrorist "wing". Israel was urged
by the Administration to separate the "Palestinian people wing" from the
"government-they-elected-wing." This led to the anomaly of our receiving
e-mails from the Israeli Embassy about the "humanitarian aid" they are
funneling into Gaza even as they search for Gilad Shalit, Israeli
civilians dodge Kassam rockets in Sderot and Ashkelon, and Hamas makes
more demands (proving, perhaps, that even the Israeli government has
wings).

Now Hezbollah has crossed the international border between Israel and
Lebanon - demarcated by the UN - fired Katyushas on civilians, killed
seven soldiers and kidnapped two others. Was it Hezbollah's "terrorist
wing" operating in southern Lebanon, managing the missiles sent and
operated by the Iranian Republican Guard? Or was it Hezbollah's
"political wing" with a minister in the government in Beirut?

Who cares? Chickens have wings; governments have partners in crime.

Prime Minister Olmert called it an act of war, an unprovoked assault by
one sovereign nation against another. Let's not entertain rubbish about
poor Beirut not controlling the southern part of Lebanon. They don't
control it because they chose not to dismantle Hezbollah in the face of
Iranian, Palestinian and Syrian opposition and they thought they had
plausible deniability for the havoc Hezbollah would wreak in Israel.

France, Great Britain, Japan, Germany and the EU indeed balanced their
denunciation of Hezbollah with calls for Israeli restraint (the EU
warned Israel to respect the international border). Our own government
was better, holding "Syria and Iran, which have provided long-standing
support for Hezbollah, responsible for today's violence ... Hezbollah's
terrorist operations ... are an affront to the sovereignty of the
Lebanese Government." Almost right, but Hezbollah's very existence is
an affront.

Once again, Israel is serving as the point country in dealing with
terrorist and the states that harbor and support them.

To view this JINSA Report online click on the link below.
http://www.jinsa.org/JINSAReports/3457

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