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August 13, 2006

Oh, When Will They Ever Learn...?

It is purely amazing that western leaders still haven't figured out what happens when they extend Arab Muslims any kind of trust, as in the trust that they will honor peace agreements.

While it's true that Israel left a lot of room for improvement in strategizing their ground war in Lebanon -- not the fault of the IDF, but the fault of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his jolly retinue for taking it upon themselves to manage the war rather than let his generals do what they're paid to do -- the result has been a sort of aimless deployment of reservist troops who don't have a clue as to what, exactly, their objectives are -- President Bush lived up to the liberals' claim that he is "dumb", in this case, by reversing his earlier policy and endorsing a cease-fire. As a two-time Bush voter, I am, at the very least, profoundly disappointed.

I mean, what does it take for the most powerful politician in the world to finally "get it?" A man who's been spearheading a global war against Islamic terrorists for nearly five (count 'em 5) years, who has had all that time to learn, from vast experience, the charactar of the enemy. This has to be one of the biggest screw-ups of our President's career, one that will ultimately result in putting our troops in Iraq and elsewhere in greater danger than they need be, to say nothing of what Israel will now have to deal with.

And Olmert shares the blame, for signing off on the cease-fire.

Naturally, the Lebanese government and Hezbollah also signed off on it -- why not?

Just as the Arab Muslim world viewed Israel's previous withdrawal from Lebanon as a victory for Hezbollah -- giving the terrorist organization the dubious reputation as the only Arab entity ever to beat Israel in war, they will do so once again. U.N. resolution 1701 is not law, Olmert could have told Bush, Kofi and the capitulative socialist powers of Europe to go piss up a rope, instead he agreed to a plan that not only may never see the return of two abducted Israeli soldiers, assuming they're really even alive at this point, but one that places the responsibility, for the moment, of disarming Hezbollah in the hands of their comrades in the Lebanese Army. It also leaves, for the time being, the same impotent U.N. presence in southern Lebanon -- you know, the one that has thus far been more a help than a hindrance to the terrorist organization -- that's been there since the last U.N. resolution regarding the Israeli-Lebanese border area. This means that in short order, Hezbollah can be back to the business of firing rockets into Israel and launching the occasional cross-border raid.

In the convoluted, primitive Muslim mind, this will be a major victory for Hezbollah and, as we've seen in the aftermath of past perceived terrorist victories, this perceived victory will inspire Hezbollah and all other Islamic terrorist groups to increase their attacks, not only against Israel, now that they will have perceived weakness there, but also against U.S. forces in Iraq, as President Bush's support for the cease-fire plan will send the Islamofascist terrorists and backers of terrorism in Iran, and indeed throughout the Arab world, the message that our resolve has been weakened by world opinion.

Caroline Glick has an on-point analysis up at GAMLA's website.

There is a good reason that Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has accepted UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which sets the terms for a cease-fire between his jihad army and the State of Israel.

The resolution represents a near-total victory for Hizbullah and its state sponsors Iran and Syria, and an unprecedented defeat for Israel and its ally the United States. This fact is evident both in the text of the resolution and in the very fact that the US decided to sponsor a cease-fire resolution before Israel had dismantled or seriously degraded Hizbullah's military capabilities.

While the resolution was not passed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and so does not have the authority of law, in practice it makes it all but impossible for Israel to defend itself against Hizbullah aggression without being exposed to international condemnation on an unprecedented scale.

This is the case first of all because the resolution places responsibility for determining compliance in the hands of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Annan has distinguished himself as a man capable only of condemning Israel for its acts of self-defense while ignoring the fact that in attacking Israel, its enemies are guilty of war crimes. By empowering Annan to evaluate compliance, the resolution all but ensures that Hizbullah will not be forced to disarm and that Israel will be forced to give up the right to defend itself.

The resolution makes absolutely no mention of either Syria or Iran, without whose support Hizbullah could neither exist nor wage an illegal war against Israel. In so ignoring Hizbullah's sponsors, it ignores the regional aspect of the current war and sends the message to these two states that they may continue to equip terrorist armies in Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Iraq with the latest weaponry without paying a price for their aggression.

The resolution presents Hizbullah with a clear diplomatic victory by placing their erroneous claim of Lebanese sovereignty over the Shaba Farms, or Mount Dov - a vast area on the Golan Heights that separates the Syrian Golan from the Upper Galilee and is disputed between Israel and Syria - on the negotiating table. In doing so, the resolution rewards Hizbullah's aggression by giving international legitimacy to its demand for territorial aggrandizement via acts of aggression, in contravention of the laws of nations.

Truncating {that's the "sophisticated" version of snip}

Aside from the resolution's egregious language, the very fact that the US has sponsored a resolution that leaves Hizbullah intact as a fighting force constitutes a devastating blow to the national security of both Israel and the US, for the following reasons:

It grants the Lebanese government and military unwarranted legitimacy. The resolution treats the Lebanese government and military as credible bodies. However, the Lebanese government is currently under the de facto control of Hizbullah and Syria.
Moreover, the Lebanese army is paying pensions to the families of Hizbullah fighters killed in battle, and its forces have actively assisted Hizbullah in attacking Israel and Israeli military targets.

Indeed, the seven-point declaration issued by the Lebanese government, which the UN resolution applauds, was dictated by Hizbullah, as admitted by Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Nasrallah last week.

It incites Shi'ite violence in Iraq. From a US perspective, the resolution drastically increases the threat of a radical Shi'ite revolt in Iraq. Hizbullah is intimately tied to Iraqi Shi'ite terrorist Muqtada al-Sadr. In April 2003, Hizbullah opened offices in southern Iraq and was instrumental in training the Mahdi Army, which Sadr leads. During a demonstration in Baghdad last week, Sadr's followers demanded that he consider them an extension of Hizbullah, and expressed a genuine desire to participate in Hizbullah's war against the US and Israel.

It should be assumed that Hizbullah's presumptive victory in its war against Israel will act as a catalyst for violence by Sadr and his followers against the Iraqi government and coalition forces in the weeks to come. Indeed, the Hizbullah victory will severely weaken moderate Shi'ites in the Maliki government and among the followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

It empowers Iran. Iran emerges as the main victor in the current war. Not only was it not condemned for its sponsorship of Hizbullah, it is being rewarded for that sponsorship because it is clear to all parties that Iran was the engine behind this war, and that its side has won.

The entire article can be read here.

Posted by Seth at August 13, 2006 04:47 PM

Comments

Seth,
At the risk of sending your blood pressure soaring even higher, take a look at THIS.

Posted by: Always On Watch at August 13, 2006 06:08 PM

Oh, and the above isn't just CAIR taqiyya. I saw film footage about the meeting on the news here.

Posted by: Always On Watch at August 13, 2006 06:08 PM

AOW --

That is just plain ridiculous! Now the Bureau and CAIR are going into partnership!?

By sharing a forum like that with CAIR, they are further legitimizing an organization that is nothing more than the U.S. representative of Islamofascist terrorism.

I get it now....

"Mine enemy, my partner."

Posted by: Seth at August 13, 2006 06:21 PM

I'm afraid that this is just the outcome of previous actions of Kadima and the Ohlmert administration, as Debka has been outlining for months.

In particular, we've had a regime that has 1) replaced much of the military command with more politically compliant officials with less experience; 2) gave back Gaza and failed to enforce any of the conditions thereof; and 3) when they finally were forced into war, they took a gradualistic approach which relied too much on air power in the early stages, thereby repeating our Vietnam errors.

Their ground offensive was too late in light of the predictable pressure from the rest of the world on the U.S. That the U.S. held out as long as it did is a tribute to Mr. Bush, although I do remain disappointed that he didn't hold out longer.

Unfortunately, Israel's failure to neutralize Hizbullah will result in the deaths of millions, or perhaps billions, I fear, when the isotope sisters come on stage .

Posted by: civil truth at August 13, 2006 06:30 PM

Just something to think about... if there's any ray of light to be found... I don't think our (U.S. & Israel) publicly stated goals were our actual goals in this conflict. I think there's ample reason to believe that our real goal is to have Iran provoke a confrontation so we can claim justification to deal with them militarily before they get nuclear weapons. Thus the approval of a resolution destined to promote greater conflict, hopefully drawing Syria into the mix, and pressuring Iran to come to her aid.

Personally, I'd rather see us say to h*** with the U.N. and world opinion and simply finish this now. I have to admit that as I was reading you article you were speaking my own frustrations.

Posted by: Hurricane Harry at August 13, 2006 06:33 PM

Hurricane Harry, unfortunately Syria was actively involved, but Israel did not take the necessary steps to interdict shipment of missiles and supplies from Syria to Hizbullah in Southern Lebanon, which would have required openly engaging Syria. If Israel did not take the war to Syria, which was a direct partner in the missile attacks on Israeli civilians (which in turn might well have forced Iran into the conflict more openly rather than its current covert level of involvement) at a time of unprecedented sufferance by other Arab states and the U.S., I don't see any reasonable prospect of preemptive action in the foreseeable future. And if not preemptive, then the conflict with Syria and Iran (probably in conjunction with Lebanon as a client state) will be at the latter's choosing. This does not bode well for Israel.

Posted by: civil truth at August 13, 2006 06:57 PM

Looking back at history, nearly every great civilization was brought down back backwards savages who couldn't comprehend the advanced civilization. For example, the Roman empire brought to it's knees by barbarians from the north (and yes, I know internal pressure helped). I am firmly of the opinion that the current western civilization is well on it's way out -- and it's now being helped towards defeat quickly, once again, by backwards savages. And yes, the leaders of the civilization are again helping to destroy it. Hello Dark Ages.

Posted by: Ogre at August 14, 2006 03:15 AM

I had a lot to say, but my friend Ogre said it first. Hello Dark Ages indeed, and we may not see the Renaissance because the giant cockroaches and slugs may not let us up.

Posted by: GM Roper at August 14, 2006 04:30 AM

Seth,
CAIR has banquets every year. Despite the fact that these banquets raise money for arrested terrorists--the vast majority of whom get convicted--various politicians attend those CAIR functions.

From time to time, it's wise to check CAIR's web site in order to see what our so-called elected representatives are sucking up to.

Posted by: Always On Watch at August 14, 2006 04:55 AM

Civil Truth --

I tend to agree that Olmert and his Kadima party have pretty much screwed Israel by continuing along the path chosen by Sharon -- he proved a disappointment in the end when he did his 180 and set in motion the ceding of territory to the Palestinians -- we see where that led.

The newest generation of Israeli liberals are just like ours, they look for goodness and justice in an enemy that knows neither, and wants only to murder them. Olmert obviously leans their way, and that bias is what really has Israel now stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Back when he was still in the Knesset and even after they dumped him as an "extremist", I believed strongly, and still do, that Rabbi Mayer Kahane was totally right. It was the old school, hardcore Zionists, those who were around when Israel was fighting its early wars, that really understood that the never ending conflict with the Arabs requires a hardline approach. Not Queensberry rules, but back alley street fighting.

By not completing their mission of destroying or at least incapacitating Hezbollah, they have basically accomplished nothing, and at the same time opened some doors for Iran and Syria, via Hezbollah, to bask in the light of U.N. favor as they continue their terrorism against Israel.

As far as the debut of the Isotope Sisters from Iran is concerned, I sincerely hope that Harry is right -- in truth, I believe he is, at least in part, though Dubya's enabling such a one-sided ceasefire, one that benefits Teheran, is hardly indicative of a strategy that might bring a pre-nuclear Iran to do anything that might provide us and/ or Israel with an excuse to exercise a military option against them. They're doing everything in their power to buy time to bring their nuclear weapons program to fruition.

Personally, I agree with you that Israel's problems are just starting...

Hurricane Harry --

Welcome to my blog. I have taken the opportunity to read yours, and I think it's quite good -- I am definitely blogrolling you, and plan to link to your excellent post on negotiating with terrorists in short order. It is both funny and "grimly" true at the same time.

I believe Civil Truth's evaluation here is on target, but I also believe that your theory about the intentions of both Israel and the U.S. seeking cause to go in and decimate Iran's nuke program is quite probable. It has to get done, and the "patty cakes" diplomacy being employed with Teheran is beyond worthless.

Israel knows it will be Iran's first target once they have their first nukes attached to even semi-accurate delivery systems, and even with a liberal mindset running the government over there, they are realists -- if they weren't, Israel would have been long gone. I don't believe the Israelis will permit Abominable-ajad to complete a nuclear weapons program, and I would also bet that our own government will have developed its own strategies for addressing the problem, as well.

Naturally, neither of the two countries will place their plans in this regard anywhere "within range" of consumption by the likes of the NYT or irresponsible fellow travellers, knowing at this point how much respect the liberal media has for vital military secrets.

Posted by: Seth at August 14, 2006 06:50 AM

Ogre --

We certainly have our complement of savages, these still living in the single digit centuries while the 21st century is all around them.

It certainly sucks to sit here and watch ours and the rest of the western governments deal with them as though they weren't savage animals, didn't intend to destroy us no matter what and as though it really mattered to them how much we treat them like human beings.

GM --

Our politicians need to grow spines and stop pretending that being PC is a mode of self defense. Islam's intentions leave no room for diplomatic achievement, only for dhimmitude or death.

AOW --

It's no wonder (to me, at least) why whenever I hear of such occurrences as that of which you speak, in which our politicians suck up to representatives of an enemy that bears us only intentions of pure malevolence, that it conjures up visions of some deranged version of the Mad Tea Party.

I will start paying more attention to CAIR's website, if only for the reasons you recommend.

Posted by: Seth at August 14, 2006 07:07 AM