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Tuesday, August 01, 2006

False Peace, False Hope

The Moose avers that a premature peace will result in a permanent war.

Anyone who remembers the 1967 Middle East war recalls the voice of Abba Eban who was Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations. With the Soviets and their allies decrying Israel's war of self-defense, Abba Eban memorably articulated the moral distinctions between the aggressor and the victim. His eloquence made him an extraordinary effective advocate in the world forum.

One is reminded of Abba Eban when one hears the current Israeli Ambassador's presentation of Israel's position at the UN and on various media outlets. Ambassador Dan Gillerman continues the Eban tradition of speaking truth to Turtle Bay.

Read and appreciate Ambassador's address from Sunday in response to the tragedy at Qana,

"Today, we say that we are truly sorry for the people of Lebanon and for the people who were killed. I have never heard Hizbullah say that they are sorry for a single Israeli - woman, child, elderly person, civilian or innocent -— who has been killed. Never. Why? Because they target us specifically. That is their declared aim, and that is what we are fighting. And while for us every dead Lebanese child is a horrible mistake and a tragedy, for them every dead Israeli child is a victory and a cause for celebration...

"We need to create a culture in which the children who were hurt in Qana would have been at school today rather than huddled together as hostages for Hizbullah -— a culture in which the children of Qiryat Shemona would have gone to school today instead of being scared and huddling in bomb shelters because of Katyusha rockets. We need to change the culture of hatred. We need to teach our children about hope."

Until the Hizbollah Islamo-fascists are defeated, there will be no hope for the children of Israel and Lebanon. Those who would press a cease-fire on Israel are neither serving the purpose of peace or hope. Until the conditions are created for a Lebanon without a Hizbolla military presence, a cease-fire will only be a pause before Hizbolla resumes the violence with greater force. And Hizbolla has no reservations about continuing to force civilians and children to serve as human shields.

Israel must prevail because a message must also be sent to Tehran and Damascus that there will be no reward for aggression. A defeat for Israel will only embolden the Iran to achieve their nuclear ambitions. And then, the Middle East will be even more unsafe for the innocent.

It is clear that Hizbolla are a much more formidable force than expected. After all, for six years the Lebanese government and the UN have looked the other way while Hizbolla as amassed a huge sophisticated arsenal with the help of their buddies in Syria and Iran. But, it is far too early to write this war off as an Israeli miscalculation. Prime Minister Olmert appears determined to see this through.

Fortunately, America has been steadfast in standing with Israel. The bi-partisan American leadership has been a beacon of moral clarity. Congressional Democrats and Republicans have put partisanship aside to support the war to defeat the terrorists who have also murdered scores of Americans. Senator Schumer, the Chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee ,

"I have no criticism of the president on this issue because I think he is doing the right thing," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told CNN. "I know some in the world have called for an immediate cease-fire. But that says Hezbollah has a gun to Israel's head; let's let them continue to keep the gun there, which they can use at will. It's just not fair to Israel."

(In contrast to the bi-partisan support of Members of Congress, the nutroots have been either silent, agnostic or hostile to Israel. The otherwise highly opinionated keyboarder kingpins have lost their voice on this issue. This is very curious. Are they hiding their views in fear of revealing their ideological predilections? Moreover, it would be nice if these bloggers expressed more disgust and concern about the Jew-hating Ahmadinejad than the Jew-hating Gibson. After all, Ahmadinejad is the Jew-hating holocaust denier who is attempting to get nukes.)

The awful tragedy of war makes moral distinctions difficult. But, there are worse things than a just war. History teaches us that a phony premature "peace" that capitulates to evil is only a prelude to a much greater horror.
-- Posted at 8:11 AM | Link to this post | Email this post