Posted on 07/30/2006 9:15:48 AM PDT by SJackson
It will become complicit with terrorism, a legitimate military target.
As Israeli ground forces cross over into Lebanon in an effort to destroy Hizbullah's capacity to fire rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians, the president of Lebanon Emile Lahoud is taking sides and flexing his nation's muscle for the first time.
He told a German magazine that he "respects Hizbullah" and its terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah, and he has threatened to turn the Lebanese army against Israel. This would cause a self-inflicted, and perhaps lethal, wound on Lebanon.
Militias associated with several Lebanese political parties -including the party of the speaker of the parliament and of the Lebanese Communist Party - have already joined Hizbullah in attacking Israel.
Up until now, the Lebanese government has claimed that it has no real army, not even one capable of controlling the Hizbullah terrorists who have "occupied" southern Lebanon. It has claimed an inability to enforce UN resolution 1559 which, adopted by the Security Council in 2004, "calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," meaning Hizbullah. And it has disclaimed any responsibility for Hizbullah atrocities against Israeli civilians and kidnapped soldiers.
NOW, ALL of a sudden, its tune has changed. Suddenly its army is strong enough to take on Israel, and it is willing to collaborate with the terrorist organization from which it previously sought to disassociate itself. Nor can the Lebanese government plausibly argue that this about-face has been caused by the Israeli decision to have its ground troops cross over into Lebanon.
Intelligence sources have confirmed that elements of the Lebanese army have been working with Hizbullah terrorists from the beginning of this conflict, providing the terrorists with electronic, radar and other logistical supports.
The Lebanese government is not as innocent - not as much of a victim - as it has gotten the international community and the media to believe. It is playing a dangerous and two-faced game of both sides against the middle.
Large segments of its Islamic population in Lebanon support Hizbullah, while much of its Christian population is terrified of the radical Islamic goals of Hizbullah but too intimidated to speak out. Israel and the United States do not want to turn Lebanese moderates into anti-Israel and anti-American zealots, but the tragic reality is that moderates have little influence in Lebanon these days.
Israel made a serious blunder by worrying too much about the impact its military actions might have on Lebanese public opinion, and was consequently quite tentative in its initial response to Hizbullah rockets.
If this decision was made for military reasons, I would have insufficient expertise to question it. But it appears that military considerations may have been compromised in order to influence Lebanese public opinion.
If that was the reason, it was self-defeating.
ISRAEL WILL be criticized regardless of what it does or refrains from doing. If it succeeds in destroying Hizbullah, it will be criticized for the civilian deaths it caused, even though the civilian deaths are the fault of Hizbullah for operating from civilian population centers.
If Israel fails, it will be criticized for leaving the poor Lebanese in the grip of an emboldened Hizbullah.
Israel was attacked from areas that it does not occupy. It gave up this land as part of what peace-lovers in Israel believed was a swap of "land for peace." But Hizbullah and Hamas turned it into "land for rocket launching and kidnapping."
Israel is entitled to fight back and defend its citizens from aggression, as every other democracy would do.
The media and international organizations are focused on the plight of the Lebanese who have had to leave their homes, paying little attention to the thousands of Israelis who have had to leave their homes in Haifa, Safed, Nazareth and other cities in range of Hizbullah rockets. They are obsessed with comparative body counts, as Hizbullah complains that more Lebanese than Israelis have been killed.
Would they be satisfied if more Israelis had been killed? Would that render Israel's actions more proportional? Should Israel be blamed for having built bomb shelters for its civilians, while Hizbullah has built bunkers only for its leaders, leaving civilians exposed?
Should Hizbullah be given credit for deliberately increasing the number of civilian deaths on both sides by firing its anti-personnel rockets into densely populated areas and from densely populated areas? Should Israel be blamed because many Israelis left their homes in dangerous areas while many Lebanese decided to remain in war zones in order to serve as human shields for the terrorists?
HIZBULLAH IS on the wrong side of morality, international law and human rights. If the Lebanese army now joins it in fighting against Israel's efforts to stop terrorism, it will become complicit with terrorism and a legitimate military target.
It will share responsibility for the deaths of its own civilians.
It would be wise and moral for it to stay out of the fight and preserve its firepower to use against the real enemy of Lebanese democracy - Hizbullah.
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also Keywords 2006israelwar or WOT [War on Terror]
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What the hell is up with Dershowitz? The next thing we'll hear is that he joined a militia in Idaho.
Only Liberal Media stands in the way of freedom and hope for a transformed Middle East.
Job No.1 for patriots is destroying Enemy No. 1. - LIBERAL MEDIA.
Lebanon has been working behind the scenes with Hezballah all the time. Now they are thinking of coming out in the open. Big deal.
Hizballah would speed up its takeover of Lebanon -- today rather than in three years, at the time of the next election. There is no "good" solution in the Middle East because of the strength of Islam fundamentalists which is just at the surface in most states.
Fine by me if they join Hezbollah. Makes Israel's job much clearer.
If what I keep hearing is true - that one third of the Lebanese government *is* Hizbullah - then they are *ALREADY* complicit with terrorism.
All the while claiming they couldn't. Lebanon is being very poorly served by Syria and Iran and Hezbollah. Let's hope they come to their senses, but I won't count on it.
I don't know how we get out of this without a major war.
Hezbollah committed acts of war against Israel.
Israel has committed acts of war against Lebanon.
Hezbollah has direct support from Syria and Iran.
Out that together and I don't see an easy way out.
Sometimes Alan Dershowitz writes something good, and this is one of those occasions.
Unfortunately, the good professor is, against all reason, allied with the anti-American "Democratic" Party, which opposes many of the better things he stands for. He hobnobs with left-liberals during his vacations at Martha's Vineyard, and just can't break free.
A couple cabinet posts, a little over 10% of the assembly, though many are supporters without formally affiliating with Hizbollah as a party, thus the third number. Obviously Lebanon has to make a choice, they may well choose to forment terror, they've been doing it for over two decades now. Blaming it on Syria, of course.
(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)
By effectively destroying Hizbollah. A premature cease fire practically guarantees a war.
Yes, they are complicit with terror. Of coure till a year ago, that was blamed on Syria. Now it's Lebanon's turn to make a choice.
Kill them. Kill all of them.
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