The conventional wisdom holds that any military action is counterproductive. The doves point out that the Israeli counteroffensive has boosted Hezbollah's standing in the Arab world.
Well, sure. But Hezbollah's prestige was also boosted by Israel's 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon. If aggressive Israeli actions boost Hezbollah, and conciliatory Israeli actions boost Hezbollah, then maybe Israel's actions aren't really the prime mover here.
Bingo.
The Israelis cannot win, in the court of world opinion. They cannot depend on anyone else but themselves. World opinion right now is devoid of insight and understanding. So, for Israel to try and court the world's approval is certainly not in their best interests.
Certainly, Hezbollah is not going to stop just because the Israelis call off the charge. They don't want Israel to call it off.
Why? For many reasons that I could list. But the one that doesn't get a lot of mention, is recruitment. The more there is a cause, the more they can convince people to take up that cause. The more people that take up that cause, the more expendable fighters, in reserve for worldwide jihad. The pathology of the jihadist movement may be complex. But when you look at it closely, it is quite predictable.
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There is a mindset in the world that has always condmened those with the ability to wage an effective military campaign. They feel (mistakenly) that if the world was devoid of regular militaries, then most war would be avoided. they forget that the Hezbollahs of the world would still be out there.
Well said G.
You can also say the same about the anti-gun crowd. They feel that crime would go down if all guns (especially handguns) were illegal. But there is certainly evidence to the contrary, because the criminals will always keep their guns, law or no law.
This is all really Machiavelli 101. When one is seeking to unite the people, start a war. Both Hitler and Mussolini employed such tactics; Germany against the Jews, and Mussolini in his war in Africa -- which wasn't altogether very successful.
Militant extremists are doing the same thing today. Make Israel the boogey-man, and unite the people in a cause for which there is unlimited recruitment, the result of which is a lot of dead innocents on both sides and an established power base for a mullah wanna-be.
Now this brings us to the next topic: democracy for Arab nations. What did Palestine do with their democratic experience? They elected a terrorist regime. I hear some say that it wasn't really a "free and fair" election, but I'm not sure that I agree with that assessment. Didn't Jimmy Bob Carter "observe" those elections?
Of course, the real lesson, if you happen to be the prime minister of Lebanon -- given the demise of his predecessor, is to "keep his mouth" shut about all those arms flowing in to Southern Lebanon from Iraq.
I say let Israel alone; let them do what needs to be done. In fact, I think we should encourage them to use the most terrifying weapons -- because apparently, the Arab terrorists haven't learned any important lessons. We can call it "remediation."
Terrorism (n): Targeting cillivians to pressure political change.
Guilty: Israel, Hamas, al-Qaeda, etc.
If aggressive Israeli actions boost Hezbollah, and conciliatory Israeli actions boost Hezbollah, then maybe Israel's actions aren't really the prime mover here.
Man, pure unadulterated logic can be such a natural high. That sentence is a beautiful thing.
Yesterday, Brigitte Gabriel was interviewed on FNC. She came right out and said the uncomforable truth: the government of Lebanon consists of puppets of Hezbollah.
Lebanon has elected Hezbollah to their parliament, and Gaza elected Hamas. Is that not official endorsement of terrorism? I think so!
So, as Mustang said, leave Israel alone--no insistence on a cease fire--until the job is done. The nest of snakes, all of which yearn for the annihilation of Jews and are starting with the nation of Israel. must be cleaned out. Sure, some snakes will still remain, but they'll curtail their activities.
Mustang,
Absolutely, sir. You are squarely in the center of target, with a tight shot grouping with this one.
I would also add how Imperial Europe got bored because there was no war to fight. They had to whip themselves into a frenzy over it, and start WWI. All because they could not stand the thought of old past hostilities going unpunished and unavenged.
We see the same thing here with the Muslim world and Israel. In WWI, they used each other as a scapegoat. In WWII (and now in WWIII) , they used the Jews. All of this begs the question, who would be the scapegoats if there were no Jews?
AICS,
//That sentence is a beautiful thing.//
I knew you'd like it the moment I read it. ;)
Nic,
Bingo!!!
AOW,
//So, as Mustang said, leave Israel alone--no insistence on a cease fire--until the job is done.//
Too bad you two do not make policy, somewhere, in some department.
LA, I posted the line that AICS liked so much (with due credit) at Life's Journey (check the link on the right bar of my page)... not sure what kind of response it got yet though.
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