A headline that could have been written in any decade since the fall of Germany in 1945 and would have the same meaning. Today, that on going mid-east conflict continues as Israel does battle with Hezbollah in the North and Hamas in the South, and by extension: Iran and Syria. In many ways the war now being waged with Israel is indicative of what we have in store on a much larger scale in the war on terror. For over 40 years, radical Islam has waged war in varying scales against the West.

The current unpleasantness began with raids and kidnappings conducted by Hamas and Hezbollah. In the case of Hezbollah the raids were conducted from bases within the sovereign nation of Lebanon, who foolishly argue that they have no involvement with or control over Hezbollah. If that is truly the case, if it is true that Lebanon cannot prevent forces within its territory from attacking a neighboring country then for all intents and purposes Lebanon is not sovereign, but a puppet regime, just as Afghanistan was. Israel, for its part, responded as any nation would when a neighbor continues to allow its territory to be used to harbor violent radicals intent on waging war: it acted with a reign of destruction, for which Lebanon is now paying the price. Naturally, the Iranian kowtowers of Europe and the tyrant enablers in Moscow and Beijing have come out in opposition to Israel’s actions, calling the response disproportionate to the threat. Perhaps for country’s like Russia and China, where human life has no value, the response is disproportionate but for tiny Israel the kidnapping and murder of its soldiers isn’t likely to go unnoticed.

Israel is very much within its rights to defend its self, especially when its neighbors fail to take responsibility for controlling their own territory. Regardless of this, Israel’s current military campaign is unlikely to meet with the desired outcome. Israel’s aim is to destroy Hezbollah and the infrastructure that supports them. While destroying infrastructure may be possible in the short term, bridges, roads, arms depots, and communications can be repaired and rebuilt, but Hezbollah can’t be destroyed. Short of atomizing the entire Islamic world, Islamic terrorists as a whole can never be truly wiped out. Israel’s heavy handed military approach may have the opposite affect, as it serves as a perfectly scripted recruitment tool for radicals in training. The same can be said of US operations in Iraq, one should not use a sledge hammer to kill a mosquito.

In the case of Israel, a more covert method of confronting terrorism is required, one which they should never speak of and one which should be both relentless and merciless in delivering justice to such murdering savages as the killers of Hezbollah. If there is any country in the world that has the ability to wage such a campaign, it is Israel. Its intelligence service, the Mossad, has a wealth of experience in this regard, such initiatives such as Operation Wrath of God, serve as an example to Israel for the kind of operations the Jewish State should be conducting. When a new enemy or enemy leader emerges Israel should move quickly to have them taken out, rather than sit idly by waiting for the next attack. When terror sponsoring states maneuver to supply Israel’s enemies with weapons, Israel should act on that, any act should be met with an appropriate reaction and above all these operations should be conducted in secret. No, the terrorist won’t be eliminated, but Israel can make their very existence so dangerous that they will think long and hard before exposing themselves through any operation which could inevitably lead to their extermination.
http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=56262&r=1

Recent Post and the truth about Islamic Terror:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/04/islamic-terrorisma-reality-check.html