Friday, August 11, 2006
Is this the Sudetenland Moment?
To be sure, Israel accepting the ceasefire indeed gives an immediate boost to the enemy. If I'm going to be internally consistent, I should be crowing I-told-you-so at this point, because I learned the mindset of warrior cultures a long time ago, and I've been pushing this idea for a long time. Repeating since 1991 that we won't defeat Saddam until we kill Saddam, we won't defeat the Army of Allah until we kill it.
Despite all that, I feel that this 'cessation of hostilities' will be more positive than negative in the long run. This month of war in Israel and Lebanon has been a learning experience for many. Those of us who already understand the basic nature of this war have acquired an apocalyptic sense that the crunch is near; and many who were not fully awake have finally been awakened to the role of Iran as puppetmaster. On both sides, the alignments are no longer hidden.
We don't have a Churchill at the helm of a major power, but Israel's UN ambassador Dan Gillerman has given us a truly Churchillian speech for this moment in history.
A few excerpts:
Where there's a will there's a way ... but the will to implement this way has been lacking. Over the past month the peoples of Israel and Lebanon have paid a heavy price. In the face of failure to implement these resolutions, Israel has had to do what Lebanon has failed to. As a result, Hezbollah's lethal capabilities have been dealt a lethal blow. Bases have been dismantled and stockpiles of Iranian missiles have been destroyed. Southern Lebanon has been substantially cleared of the infrastructure of terrorism, and the terrorists and their sponsors have learned that the campaign of brutal terror will meet with the forceful response that it deserves.
....
However, Israel is ready to give the government of Lebanon and the International Community another chance to create a new reality on the ground. [If resolutions are not implemented] we will be back at this table in a month or a year, for then the terrorists, supplied no doubt with even more lethal weapons from Iran, will be further emboldened by the demonstration of our lack of resolve.
....
We need to open a new chapter, in which moderation is not seen as weakness, and in which a hand extended in peace is not seen as surrender.
.....
Iran has been sent a clear message. It cannot develop weapons, and it cannot fight proxy wars on the territory of others.
President Ahmadinejad has stated his dogma clearly. "There is nothing more beautiful, more holy or more eternal than the death of a martyr".
Today more than ever, a united and determined response is required from those who believe that "There is nothing more beautiful, more holy, or more eternal than a child able to grow up, living in security and peace."
The choice that faces the people of Lebanon is clear. It is the choice between those who develop agriculture and make deserts bloom, versus those who turn towns into bases of terror and barren land. It is the choice between those who work to advance medicine and bring health to body and limb, versus those who manufacture only weapons of destruction to tear limb from body. It is the choice between those who export innovation and technology, versus those whose only export is terror. ¶ 11:11 PM
Despite all that, I feel that this 'cessation of hostilities' will be more positive than negative in the long run. This month of war in Israel and Lebanon has been a learning experience for many. Those of us who already understand the basic nature of this war have acquired an apocalyptic sense that the crunch is near; and many who were not fully awake have finally been awakened to the role of Iran as puppetmaster. On both sides, the alignments are no longer hidden.
We don't have a Churchill at the helm of a major power, but Israel's UN ambassador Dan Gillerman has given us a truly Churchillian speech for this moment in history.
A few excerpts:
Where there's a will there's a way ... but the will to implement this way has been lacking. Over the past month the peoples of Israel and Lebanon have paid a heavy price. In the face of failure to implement these resolutions, Israel has had to do what Lebanon has failed to. As a result, Hezbollah's lethal capabilities have been dealt a lethal blow. Bases have been dismantled and stockpiles of Iranian missiles have been destroyed. Southern Lebanon has been substantially cleared of the infrastructure of terrorism, and the terrorists and their sponsors have learned that the campaign of brutal terror will meet with the forceful response that it deserves.
....
However, Israel is ready to give the government of Lebanon and the International Community another chance to create a new reality on the ground. [If resolutions are not implemented] we will be back at this table in a month or a year, for then the terrorists, supplied no doubt with even more lethal weapons from Iran, will be further emboldened by the demonstration of our lack of resolve.
....
We need to open a new chapter, in which moderation is not seen as weakness, and in which a hand extended in peace is not seen as surrender.
.....
Iran has been sent a clear message. It cannot develop weapons, and it cannot fight proxy wars on the territory of others.
President Ahmadinejad has stated his dogma clearly. "There is nothing more beautiful, more holy or more eternal than the death of a martyr".
Today more than ever, a united and determined response is required from those who believe that "There is nothing more beautiful, more holy, or more eternal than a child able to grow up, living in security and peace."
The choice that faces the people of Lebanon is clear. It is the choice between those who develop agriculture and make deserts bloom, versus those who turn towns into bases of terror and barren land. It is the choice between those who work to advance medicine and bring health to body and limb, versus those who manufacture only weapons of destruction to tear limb from body. It is the choice between those who export innovation and technology, versus those whose only export is terror. ¶ 11:11 PM
