Friday, July 14, 2006
Let the War for the Middle East expand
Don’t repeat the mistakes of 1982
by Ferdinand III
There are two main truths about the Middle East. One: Islam is not a religion but an ideology akin to fascism and communism. You don’t kill a fascism through multi-lateral UN double talk conferences and ‘feeling their pain’. Second: Islam will never reform itself internally. This is obvious even in the so-called Islamic allies of the West including Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco or Jordan. All Islamic nations pose a threat to the West through the support of terror, the training of terrorists and the funding of terrorist cells and networks, not to mention the exportation of radical Imam’s to Western mosques to stir up hate against Western states. Lebanon and Palestine are key nexus points of terror, weapons smuggling, radical preaching and hate mongering, and convenient launching pads to invade Israel. It is time to end the farce of their existence.
In 1983 Hizbollah, funded with Iranian money and arms blew up the US army barracks in Beirut and killed 242 American soldiers. If there was a good reason to invade a country I suppose murdering 242 soldiers would qualify. Yet Reagan contrary to his reputation as a fearless, mad, gun-toting, toothless maniac of a cowboy, meekly withdrew US forces from Lebanon and stuck the US’ collective head in the sand. This of course set the stage for Arafat and the PLA to step up their jihad against Maronite Christians killing in 15 years about 100,000 non-Muslims. It also gave Iran a gleefully gruesome victory against the great Satan and gave Hizbollah enormous prestige not to mention more money, converts and motivation. Of course the increase in Lebanese-Iranian terrorism and the concomitant jihad against Jews and Christians never titillated the world media with say the same fervor that they report on Guatanamo Bay or Haditha.
Since 1983 Lebanese muslims and their jihadic coterie have murdered over 100.000 Lebanese Christians; 3.000 Israeli soldiers instigated by Lebanese incursions into Israel and over 8.000 Israeli civilians. This is on top of the 4.000 dead Israeli citizens murdered by recent Palestinian intifadas. The Muslim invasions of Israeli territory cover 5 major attacks; repeated and at times monthly shelling; terrorist atrocity against unarmed innocents and daily raging against the very existence of a Zionist state. It is unconscionable that the West is not supporting Israel more forthrightly and aid in punitive actions against fascists in both Lebanon and in Palestine.
Yet what will the US do ? Most likely what it did in 1982 and before – force the Israeli’s to withdraw from Lebanon. What will be the result? Like post 1982 more deaths - both Israeli and American.
Maybe it is good to learn a little from history.
Lebanon has been engaged in open warfare with Israel since 1978 predating even the rise of Khomeni in Iran. In 1978 after serious cross border fighting, the Israeli’s entered and occupied southern Lebanon. In June 1978, then Prime Minister Begin, under intense American pressure, withdrew. Israeli forces were replaced by UNIFIL, a UN force to restore peace and help the Lebanese government re-establish its authority, as authorized by UN Resolution 425. As one would expect UNIFIL was useless. The withdrawal of Israeli troops without having removed the terrorist Arafat and his PLO from its bases in southern Lebanon became a huge security and military risk to the Israeli state and this American miscalculation had calamitous consequences which have lasted 24 years.
UNIFIL as it should have been forecasted, did nothing to prevent terrorists from reinfiltrating the region and introducing new, and more dangerous arms. Cross-border conflict between Israel and the various forces in Southern Lebanon continued at differing levels of intensity after 1978 but UNIFIL did nothing to enforce peace or make the Arabs comply with various peace declarations and truces. During 1981 for example, the PLO staged 270 terrorist actions in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and along the Lebanese and Jordanian borders. Twenty-nine Israelis died and more than 300 were injured in the attacks. In April 1982, after a landmine killed an Israeli officer, the rocket attacks and air strikes recommenced. Israel could hardly wait for more deadly attacks to be launched against its civilian population before acting against the PLO terrorists. After a Palestinian terrorist group led by Abu Nidal attempted to assassinate Israel's Ambassador to Great Britain, Shlomo Argov Israel attacked. Israeli forces bombed PLO bases and ammunition dumps in Beirut and attacked other targets in Lebanon on June 4-5, 1982. The PLO responded with a massive artillery and mortar attack on the Israeli population of the Galilee. It was this PLO shelling that triggered the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
On June 6, 1982, under the direction of then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel invaded Lebanon with a massive force, called Operation Peace for the Galilee, driving all the way to Beirut and putting the PLO and residents, as well as the Lebanese civilian population of that city, under siege. Israel justified its breech of the Habib cease-fire by citing the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador in London and a build-up of PLO armaments in South Lebanon. Israel was also concerned by increasing Syrian involvement in the Lebanese civil war and wanted to forestall a hostile, Syrian-backed government developing in Lebanon.
However the US fearing an escalation and Soviet threats forced Israel to withdraw. The necessary destruction of militant fascist forces never occurred. Since 1982 the attacks against Israel have only escalated and in 1983 the US barracks in Beirut were blown sky high with 242 dead American soldiers. That was Lebanon’s and Islam’s appreciative response to US ‘restraint’. With Bush now forcing Israel to ‘be nicer’ it is clear that US policy makers don’t read history.
What we will do now? Let’s hope not what we did in the early 1980s and leave before the job is finished.