(IsraelForum.com) -- Many Americans thought Operation Iraqi Freedom would be a cakewalk. They didn?t expect enemy soldiers dressed like civilians, surrenders staged to ambush coalition soldiers, and dead American POWs with bullet holes in their foreheads. They weren?t fully aware of the barbarism endemic to totalitarian Arab and Islamic regimes. Hopefully, now the U.S. will better understand the dangers confronting tiny Israel, and why restraint and survival are sometimes mutually exclusive.
Palestinian terrorists wrote the book on hiding among civilians. But there?s much more to the story. Palestinian terrorists welcome civilian casualties on both sides. They sneak past soldiers in order to kill ordinary Israelis. They hide among their own people not so much to evade capture as to reap the public relations rewards that follow when their civilians are accidentally killed during Israeli incursions.
As Seen in Jenin
Israelis are also quite familiar with enemies that pretend to surrender so they can ambush and slaughter those preparing to accept prisoners. In April of 2002, Palestinians in Jenin feigned surrender in order to lure 13 Israeli Defense Force soldiers to their deaths. Not satisfied with this deception, and knowing how gullible many Westerners are, the Palestinians proceeded to accuse Israel of massacring residents of Jenin. If Palestinian fighters have principles, one of them must be this: if you get away with one lie be sure to immediately tell another.
Saddam Hussein miscalculated when he decided not to disarm. But the U.S. miscalculated if it expected the Iraqi regime to treat prisoners of war humanely. Israel learned years ago that soldiers captured by Iraq?s neighbor, Syria, are routinely executed. Operating under Syria?s auspices in south Lebanon, the Hezbollah terrorists take this vile practice a step further, kidnapping Israelis and refusing to permit Red Cross visits or provide any information regarding their fate.
How did the U.S. get into this predicament? Saddam spent considerable time preparing for this war. Much of his effort was concentrated on mending relations with Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq and forging alliances with international Islamist terrorists. While some critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom complain it is a distraction from the War against Terrorism?citing lack of evidence of Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda?nothing could be further from the truth.
There is no doubt we will win the conventional war with Iraq. But will we win the war of attrition that is certain to follow? Like Nazism in the 20th century, Islamism is a fanatical and irrational political movement. Followers are not just willing to die for the cause, they are eager to achieve "martyrdom." It does not matter to them whether victory takes one year or one hundred years.
Post-War Perils
So what can the U.S. expect in Iraq once the conventional war ends? Count on a protracted campaign of lies, terrorism, and public gloating over cruelly-inflicted coalition losses. If ever there was a political movement based on the belief that the ends justify the means, it is Islamism.
To keep Islamists from seizing power in Iraq, the U.S. will be forced to remain there for a long time. This will be condemned throughout the Muslim world as "illegal occupation." Islamists will unleash a wave of terrorism which they will call "resistance," while Islamist mass murderers pose as victims of U.S. "racism" and "war crimes."
The Arab world will exploit strained relations between the U.S. and France, Germany, and Russia, and will milk United Nation?s forums for all the propaganda they are worth. They will do everything they can to channel the misery of their own poor and oppressed masses into envy of the U.S. and Israel.
Understanding Our Ally
We must win this war if our children?and their children?are to remain free. One lesson from Vietnam is that we should never go to war without clearly defined and achievable objectives. But there is another, equally important lesson: in order to achieve those objectives we must correctly identify our enemies and allies.
We must find the courage to call our enemy by their rightful name. Saying we are at war with "international terrorists" is like saying we are at war with "foreign soldiers." We are, more specifically, at war with militant Islam, also known as Islamism.
Likewise, we must find the courage to acknowledge a key ally in the war against Islamism. Israel has been on the front lines of this war since it began. It?s time to stop scolding Israel for taking actions forced upon her by an evil enemy. Israel has the right to fight with the same determination and purpose as the U.S.
