JINSA Report #593 It's Time to Review

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August 11, 2006

JINSA Report #593

It's Time to Review

Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Scotland Yard's
magnificent "catch" on the planned bombing of six trans-Atlantic
flights, reminds us that the West is NOT fighting a "war on terror."
Terror is a tactic in the war radical Islamic fundamentalists are waging
against democratic societies, and our war is against terrorists and the
states that harbor and support them.

Israel's battle proves that terrorists need the attributes provided by
states in order to maximize the damage they can pose. Hezbollah has
thousands of long and medium range missiles, which they are shooting at
Israel from Lebanese soil. Hezbollah has (actually had) more than 100
facilities/offices/bases/depots in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah has
bunkers under Lebanese towns and villages and puts its rocket launchers
right in the middle of Lebanese civilians who provide (mostly-unwilling)
cover against Israeli retaliation. Hezbollah has arms, training and
money provided by governments of Syria and Iran. Hezbollah has political
support from those three countries and others in the Arab world as well
as seats in the Lebanese Parliament.

What would Hezbollah be without the territory, arms, money, training and
political support? What would it be if it had no Lebanese civilians
among which to hide? It would still be Hezbollah and would still hate
Israel and America, but its ability to inflict damage would be much
less. So Israel fights NOT to kill each terrorist (although knocking off
leadership is important), but to dislodge the organization from its
territorial base and remove the props. One state, Lebanon, has felt the
effect. Syria and Iran may have to feel it as well before Hezbollah is
defanged.

Those two countries are responsible for much of the support of terrorism
in Iraq as well - aimed now mainly at Iraqi civilians. While the U.S.
and the Iraqi army do their best to provide space for the elected
government, Iran sponsors Shi'ite irredentism and Syria is a haven for
terrorists of a variety of stripes. Both countries make territory, arms
and passage into Iraq available.

Why? Because they believe they will not be held accountable. The goal of
the West, then, must be to ensure that governments that encourage and
support terrorism are not able to disassociate themselves from their
responsibility.

Britain has a different sort of problem. While the British government
certainly does not actively support terrorism, terrorists take advantage
of the attributes of democratic countries to plan and train. Britain and
other democratic societies have to balance freedom with the need to root
out evil.

So we end with British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, howling mad
that the U.S. stopped at Prestwick Airport on a flight to supply Israel
with bunker-buster bombs. Would she prefer that Israel leave Hezbollah
in the bunkers in Lebanese territory? If so, she fails to understand
that Israel and Britain - and the rest of us - face the same threat,
organized and instigated by states that harbor and support terrorists.
We ought to face it together.

To view this JINSA Report online click on the link below.
http://www.jinsa.org/JINSAReports/3503
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