A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Olmert's Propaganda Must Be Rejected

Less disturbing than Israel's disappointing failure to crush Hezbollah is Prime Minister Olmert's claim that Israel has essentially done just that.

The war continues to rage, and during the course of the war I will not offer a detailed analysis of Israel's performance during the war.

However, it is a matter of fact that at this time Hezbollah not only continues to exist, with its leadership intact, it also continues to send large numbers of rockets into northern Israel, up to Haifa. If the war ends in this manner, Hezbollah will remain a threat to Israel, regardless of what the UN Security Council purports to do, and regardless of whether the kidnapped soldiers return in some sort of prisoner exchange.

Israel must defend itself from Hezbollah and other threats - particularly those from Iran and from the Palestinians - in a sober, realistic and objective manner.

It is not okay to claim total victory when total victory has not been achieved.

For years, especially since the first Gulf War, Israel has ignored military threats and attacks. It decided not to respond to Saddam Hussein's 39 scud missiles. It arrogantly let the PLO into Judea, Samaria and Gaza, insisting that the PLO would crush Hamas and was therefore basically an ally. It downplayed the threat of Hezbollah too. It insisted that unilateral withdrawal from Gaza was actually a punishment against the Palestinians and would result in no harm to Israel.

In a way, the biggest threat to Israel is its complacent insistence on ignoring the threats to its security and its existence.

Exaggerating the scope of victory over a weakened but still menacing Hezbollah by claiming that Hezbollah has been crushed would be disastrous.

Ignoring the obvious lessons from Lebanon and Gaza - that unilateral withdrawal strengthens the enemy and results in attacks on Israeli cities that no security fence can prevent - is unacceptable.

Refusing to understand that military deterrence cannot be achieved solely via air strikes, and that control on the ground remains essential, will lead to disaster in the next phase of Israel's war against Hamas, Fatah, and Hezbollah.

Implementing another unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, thereby bringing Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport into rocket range could, G-d forbid, be fatal.
posted on 8/03/2006