I will go into Shabbat here in Israel before there is any decision regarding the proposed Security Council resolution on Lebanon. As I write, Lebanon is refusing to accept the proposal — they don’t want foreign forces (even French) on their land, they want an immediate ceasefire, etc. If they hold fast, at the behest of Hezbollah, the issue is finished and we move north. If not, it falls to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to make the decision.
With all of my being I wanted to see the proposal morph into something we could accept with integrity and confidence, but with all of my being I know this isn’t going to happen. Today (and this is still rumor, not a written document), I am hearing that the proposal would not include release of our soldiers. That alone would reduce us to the status of a paper tiger and make us the laughing stock of our enemies, for we had declared up front at the beginning of the war and continually since that we would keep fighting until our soldiers were returned.
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The military is greatly distressed at being held back from doing their job. They are ready and say that they have good capacity to do what needs to be done. Hezbollah, they maintain with solid reason, can be dealt with effectively only this way. Hezbollah is weakened and tired, and can be taken down.
Actually, there was a "changing of the guard" just days ago, when Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Halutz placed Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky at the head of operations in the north, where, for all practical purposes, whatever titles were assigned, he replaced the head of Northern Command Maj. Gen Udi Adam. This was a constructive move for the effective planning and execution of the invasion.
There has been considerable anger at Olmert for his blocking of military goals and his creation of stalemates in the field. Many of the soldiers we have lost so far, it is said, were ready targets because they were sitting immobile in the field, instead of being allowed to move forward.
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It was a shock to many in Israel today when Ari Shavit, a left wing columnist writing for the very left wing Haaretz, wrote: "…in blinking first over the past 24 hours, he has become an incorrigible political personality. Therefore, the day Nasrallah comes out of his bunker and declares victory to the whole world, Olmert must not be in the prime minister’s office. Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister."
The specter of Nasrallah declaring victory is sobering because it has major ramifications.
Caroline Glick, in the Post today, has addressed the serious global implications of what is happening:
"If Olmert allows the IDF to fight…we will be able to change the face of the region and of the world as a whole.
"…Because he has yet to fail, the Iranian leader enjoys an aura of invincibility that deters other leaders from challenging his power. An Israeli victory against the Iranian military’s advance guard would shatter that aura and facilitate a much more robust Anglo-American stand against Tehran and its client Syria."
There are other issues as well, whether Israel is perceived as a military liability or asset being chief among them.
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The world is sick. That much is clear. It adopts a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil approach. It appeases. It points the finger in the wrong direction. Were the world not sick, there would have been an unqualified rallying to cheer on our effort to take out the menace represented by Hezbollah. But such, of course, is not to be.
When the foiled terrorist plot to take down airplanes was exposed yesterday, and when President Bush in his brief statement made reference to the need to continue to fight the radical terrorists, I thought, just perhaps, this might enhance understanding of what we were battling. I thought perhaps the obvious connect might be made. But it was not to be.
On Fox News, which is one of the fairer outlets, the question was raised as to whether there is a connection between the war in Lebanon and that terrorist plot. Opined one of their people stationed at the border of Lebanon (forgive me that I now forget who): "As long as there is not peace in the Middle East, we will see incidents like this."
Oi! That canard again! What we are battling represents one part of a global war. The Islamicists do not seek peace here — but rather our destruction, the destruction of the West, and world domination. Those who do not yet see this are missing the boat.
And if we in Israel don’t perceive that ultimately we are alone in our battle, it is we who are missing the boat, as well. If we depend upon the likes of the French — who are seeking to protect Hezbollah from being dismantled! — to protect us, we will have relinquished our sovereignty and fallen low, no matter how lovely it would seem to call the soldiers home.
This is an existential war that must be won, not papered over.
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This posting can be found at: https://41k.82b.myftpupload.com/current-postings/2006/8/11/posted-august-11-2006.html
