JINSA Flag and General Officers Statement on Israeli-Hezbollah Fighting

JINSA
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August 1, 2006

JINSA Flag and General Officers Statement on Israeli-Hezbollah Fighting

We, the undersigned, believe that Israel's military operation to remove
Hezballah from southern Lebanon is a correct and legitimate response to
the creation of an armed force accountable to Syria and Iran residing
within the boundaries of Lebanon and using Lebanese territory to engage
in cross-border warfare. Israel voluntarily withdrew completely from
Lebanese territory in 2000 under the terms of UN Resolution 1559, but
the Government of Lebanon was unable or unwilling to assert its
sovereignty in the area Israel vacated.

We believe further that the IDF has taken care to focus its response so
as to minimize civilian casualties among the Lebanese, even as Hezballah
indiscriminately rockets Israeli towns and cities. It has become
increasingly clear that Hezballah took advantage of Lebanon's weakness
to hide its forces and its weapons in the south of Lebanon and its
command and control capabilities in Beirut, within the civilian
population. This ensured that any Israeli response would create
civilian casualties that would dominate the international media.

The relatively few Israeli casualties in the face of widespread rocket
and missiles attacks appear to be the result of an active civil defense
system in Israel, not humanitarian concern by Hezballah.

We have traveled to Israel over the years with The Jewish Institute for
National Security Affairs (JINSA). We brought with us our decades of
military experience and came away with the unswerving belief that the
security of the State of Israel is a matter of great importance to U.S.
policy in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. A strong Israel is
an asset upon which American military planners and political leaders can
rely. Israel shares our commitment to democracy, freedom, personal
liberty and rule of law.

As American defense professionals, we view events in the Middle East
through the prism of American security interests, in which regard we
make two points:

First, the problem of militias and non-state actors operating in
sovereign country is precisely the same as that faced by American and
coalition forces in Iraq. The militias and foreign fighters facing our
troops are also supported by Iran and Syria.

Second, we have a particular interest in the demise of Hezballah. Until
September 11, 2001, Hezballah was the terrorist organization responsible
for more American deaths than any other, including 241 American
servicemen in the Beirut barracks bombing and 17 Americans in the
bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. We have not forgotten William
Buckley, Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem and Lt. Col. William (Rich)
Higgins, USMC.

We believe strongly that any cease-fire must be accompanied by a
determined international military effort to assist Lebanon in rooting
out the armed remnants of Hezbollah and ensuring that the Lebanese Army
is the controlling armed force in the south. Anything less would be a
prescription for renewed fighting at the time of Hezbollah's choosing.

Throughout our travels and our talks, the determination of Israelis to
protect their country and to pursue a fair and workable peace with their
neighbors was clear. Thus, we view the current conflict in and around
Israel with great dismay. America's responsibility as a friend to
Israel -- and to Lebanon -- should strengthen our country's resolve to
assist and support Israel in its efforts to dislodge Hezballah's
military capabilities from southern Lebanon and work with the
international community to ensure that the Lebanese Army is deployed to
the international border in a manner that protects both countries.

(Signed as of 30 July 2006)

1. RA Fred Ames, USCG (Ret.) --Assistant Commandant for Human Resources*
2. RA Charles Beers, USN (ret.) -- Commander, Submarine Group Ten
3. LG Walter E. (Buck) Buchanan III, USAF (ret.) -- Commander, 9th Air
Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces
4. LG Anthony Burshnick, USAF (ret.) -- Vice Commander-in-Chief,
Military Airlift Command
5. General J.B. Davis, USAF (ret.) -- Chief of Staff, Supreme
Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe (NATO)
6. LG Joseph DeFrancisco, USA (ret.) -- Deputy Commander in Chief and
Chief of Staff, U.S. Pacific Command
7. Admiral Leon Edney, USN (ret.) -- Commander in Chief, Allied Forces NATO
8. MG Bobby O. Floyd, USAF (ret.) Director of Logistics, Air Mobility
Command
9. MG Paul Fratarangelo, USMC (ret.) Commander, Marine Corps Air Bases,
Western Area
10. MG David Grange, USA (ret.) -- Commander, Task Force Eagle (Bosnia)
and Task Force, Kosovo.
11. LG Earl Hailston, USMC (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces
Pacific/Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command/ Commanding
General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific/Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Bases,
Pacific
12. LG John Hall, USAF (ret.) -- Commander of U.S. Forces, Japan and
Commander, 5th Air Force
13. Admiral Jerome Johnson, USN (ret.) -- Vice Chief of Naval Operations
14. VA Anthony Less, USN (ret.) -- Commander, Naval Air Forces, US
Atlantic Fleet
15. MG Jarvis Lynch, USMC (ret.) -- Commander, Marine Corps Recruit
Depot, Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region.
16. VA Bernard Kauderer, USN (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Submarine Forces
17. LG Charles May, Jr., USAF (ret.) -- Vice Chief of Staff, USAF
18. VA Paul McCarthy, USN (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet
19. LG James C. McCombs, USAF (ret.) -- Deputy Commander in Chief, US
Special
Operations Command
20. LG Fred McCorkle, USMC (ret.) -- Deputy Commandant for Aviation MG
21. R. Adm. Riley Mixson, USN (ret.) -- Director of Air Warfare
22. MG William C. Moore, USA (ret.) -- Director of Operations & Plans
23. LG Carol Mutter, USMC (ret.) -- Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower
and Reserve Affairs
24. LG Garry Parks, USMC (ret.) -- Deputy Commandant, Manpower and
Reserve Affairs
25. MG Robert Patterson, USAF (ret.) -- Commander, Special Operations
Command & Commanding General 23rd Air Force
26. V. Adm. James Perkins, USN (ret.) -- Commander, Military Sealift Command
27. RA Richard Rybacki, USCG (ret.) -- Commander, First Coast Guard District
28. General Crosbie Saint, USA (ret.) -- Commander-in-Chief, US Army
Europe and Seventh Army
29. RA Norman Saunders, USCG (ret.) -- Commander, 7th Coast Guard District
30. MG Sidney Shachnow, USA (ret.) -- Commanding General, JFK Special
Warfare Center and School at Ft. Bragg
31. General Lawrence Skantze, USAF (ret.) -- Vice Chief of Staff, U.S.
Air Force
32. Gen. Donn A. Starry, USA (ret.) -- Commanding General, U.S. Army
Readiness Command
33. Admiral Jerome Tuttle, USN (ret.) -- Director, Space & Electronic
Warfare
34. Gen. Louis C. Wagner, Jr., USA (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Army
Materiel Command
35. RA Guy Zeller, USN (ret.) -- Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla
Three/Commander Battle Group Foxtrot

* Last Command noted for purposes of identification only.

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http://www.jinsa.org/JINSAReports/3485

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