By Andrew L. Jaffee

netWMD Special Report: Hezbollah Facts

Of course the U.S. has sided with Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah. The House and Senate have passed almost unanimous resolutions supporting the Jewish state — a matter of public record. Secretary of State Rice has ruled out a “ceasefire.” President Bush has stated categorically that, “Israel has a right to defend herself.”

Now the talking heads have gotten a hold of the fact that the U.S. is rushing delivery to Israel of precision bunker-busting bombs, to aid in the Jewish state’s fight against the terrorist group Hezbollah. Hand-wringing has already started because the expedited delivery “is likely to anger Arab governments because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding Israel at such a sensitive time,” according to the BBC.

Such a sensitive time? Hezbollah is shooting rockets into Israeli civilian centers. Israel is a democracy and a staunch ally. So what if previous administrations have involved the U.S. in years of “shuttle diplomacy” to solve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict? Look at where we are now. Another Palestinian terrorist group is operating at will from inside the territory of a sovereign Arab state, Lebanon. Of course the U.S. is taking sides.

From the Houston Chronicle:

The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday.

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. …

But Israel’s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers and was an indication that Israel had a long list of targets in Lebanon still to strike.

Hmmm… The names of these “military officers?” Perhaps Wesley Clark, who led a campaign against Serbia in the 1990’s — remember that the Serbs at that time rationalized their military moves against Kosovo on the grounds of “security.” On the diplomatic front, and also from the same U.S. administration, from ABC:

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright criticized the Bush administration for not getting more involved in the crisis in the Middle East and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should leave the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, and begin Mideast shuttle diplomacy.

How would Madeleine explain her current sentiments in light of her orchestration of the Serbia air-war — “its different for the Jews?” Oh, that’s right. She has some Jewish blood.

All realpolitik aside — e.g., public statements — the Bush administration is backing Israel. From the Detroit Free Press:

On Friday, she [Secretary of State Rice] rejected the “false promise” of an immediate cease-fire in the spreading war between Israel and Hizballah because it likely would maintain the status quo, rather than address the cause of the problem.

A long-term peace agreement will be sought during her Mideast trip, which begins with a stop in Israel, she said.

Rice defended her decision not to meet with Hizballah leaders or their Syrian backers during her visit.

“Syria knows what it needs to do, and Hizballah is the source of the problem,” she said.

The United States continues to press for the release of two Israeli soldiers whose capture set off the 10 days of violence, and for Hizballah to stop firing missiles into Israel.

The United States has resisted international pressure to force Israel to halt the fighting. The hands-off approach has given Israel more time to destroy Hizballah, which both nations consider a terrorist network in southern Lebanon.

Israel is not the obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Duh. Hezbollah and the rest of the Islamo-fascists are. Lebanon will not enforce U.N. Resolution 1559, and is a terrorist wild-west, precisely because of the Palestinians.

The history of Lebanon is a long and painful one. The country achieved full independence in 1944. According to nationbynation.com,

Between 1944 and the early 1970s, Lebanon enjoyed a comfortable prosperity based on international banking and trade. This period came to a close as the Palestinians began to use Lebanese territory from which to stage attacks on Israel.

During this period of prosperity, built mainly by Lebanon’s Maronite Christians, Beirut was fondly known as the “Paris of the Middle East.” But the greatest terrorist of them all, Yasser Arafat, made sure Lebanon’s peace would come to an end. Starting in 1968, he and his fellow goons tried to take over Jordan. They failed and by 1971, moved into Lebanon. According to cedarland.org,

… Lebanon was to suffer more than any other country at the hands of the Palestinians whose actions and those of their allies resulted in [a] fifteen year war and the destruction of the Lebanese state.

Again, nationbynation.com,

In 1975, civil war broke out between Christians against Moslems and the Palestinians joining in against the Maronite Christians. Thousands died and much of the formerly cosmopolitan Beirut was left in ruins. In 1981, Christian militiamen fought Syrian troops and all the others combatants joined in. Israel placed itself in the position of supporting the Christian militiamen and in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to force the PLO out.

Even worse for Lebanon, the terrorist group Hezbollah was formed there in 1982, whose “political rhetoric has centred on calls for the destruction of the state of Israel” and has “dreamt of transforming Lebanon’s multi-confessional state into an Iranian-style Islamic state,” according to the BBC. Obviously, other Lebanese, like the Maronites, are not sanguine with Hezbollah’s intentions. The group has close ties with Syria and Iran. Both nations are obviously exploiting Hezbollah to torture Israel.

Diplomacy? Clinton’s shuttle diplomacy — Oslo — again? Palestinian “President” Yasser Arafat in July 2000 rejected Israel’s generous offer to end the conflict. Palestinian terrorists responded to Israel’s offer with the “most sustained wave of Palestinian suicide bombings in Israeli history.”

To heck with “diplomacy.” Rush the bunker busters to Israel. Let her finish off Hezbollah once and for all. That will bring security to Israel and Lebanon. The choice is between democracy and terrorist evil and chaos.

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Recent posts:

• Debate: “Democracy Is About More Than Elections”
• Hezbollah Facts
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• Politically-Correct Admission?
• Targeted Killings

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Related: Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Palestinians, Peace Process, Syria, Terrorist Groups

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