Tragedy and Apology Do Not Mean Standing Down

Perhaps it's efficiency. Perhaps it's laziness. But whatever the origin, I am always happy when someone else successfully encapsulates my thoughts in writing, so that I won't have to attempt to do it myself.

Today, my thoughts conform with those of an editorial in The Jerusalem Post:

" 'It's absolutely dreadful, it's quite appalling,' said UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, among the many international reactions of shock following the deaths of some 50 Lebanese citizens in a building that Israel believed harbored Hizbullah terrorists launching missiles at Israeli cities. Yes, it is appalling. It is appalling that Hizbullah would deliberately target Israel's cities, and do so from civilian areas, hoping that Israel would kill greater numbers of Lebanese civilians. It is appalling that this barbaric tactic - after some 5,000 Israeli bombing sorties - has proved "effective," with tragic consequences for innocent Lebanese people, and producing the expected international fallout: not against Hizbullah, but against Israel. It is also appalling that for three weeks over a million Israelis - Jews and Arabs - have been living in bomb shelters, never knowing when a missile aimed at them will kill them or destroy their homes... Are we, the nations of the world that are threatened by an Iranian victory, automatons who are helpless to act in our own overwhelming interests? Are we powerless to overturn the bizarre moral calculus by which Israel is held accountable for the barbaric tactics of its enemies? We are not. We - the US, UK, and Israel, for starters - must stand together for the truth and our own interests. We must not submit to the epitome of stupidity and immorality, masquerading as moral blackmail. If we do, we have no one to blame but ourselves."

So Many Reasons to Love Tony Blair

The man talks sense. His words are rational, logical, well-reasoned, articulate, and -- perhaps most importantly -- CORRECT. Thank you, Mr. Blair, for remaining a dependably upright leader with integrity and vision.

Case in point, a brief segment of today's discussion in the House of Commons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Kl7TRFEdQ&NR

Round I: Iran vs. the West

Jerusalem Issue Brief
Institute for Contemporary Affairs

Vol. 6, No. 1 –17 July 2006

The Opening Round of Iran's War Against the West

by Dore Gold

Since the 1982 Lebanon War, the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly demanded that all foreign forces leave Lebanese territory. This evacuation of outside armies and terrorist groups was rightly seen as the prerequisite for the pacification of the volatile Israel-Lebanon border and the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty.

It was disturbing to see Secretary-General Kofi Annan shaking hands with Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on June 20, 2000, during a visit to Beirut. The UN strategy was to give Hizballah some recognition and thereby obtain good behavior on its part.

In 2002, Lebanese media reported the arrival of Iranian Revolutionary Guards to train Hizballah in the use of Fajr 3 and Fajr 5 medium-range missiles with a range of 70 kilometers, deployed in southern Lebanon and aimed at Israel’s northern cities. So in return for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, it acquired a more powerful Hizballah, as well as Iranian forces taking up positions directly on its borders.

The chief aims of the entire Western alliance — including Israel — in the current conflict are: full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions that call for the complete dismantling of Hizballah and the deployment of the Lebanese army along the Israel-Lebanon border; and the removal of all Iranian forces and equipment from Lebanese territory, along with any lingering Syrian presence.

Defeating Iran’s opening shot in this Middle Eastern war is not just Israel’s interest, but the collective interest of the entire civilized world. Israel’s strategy depends upon isolating the Hizballah insurgency in Lebanon from any reinforcement from Iran and its allies by air, land, or sea.

The UN and Lebanon
Since the 1982 Lebanon War, the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly demanded that all foreign forces leave Lebanese territory. This evacuation of outside armies and terrorist groups was rightly seen as the prerequisite for the pacification of the volatile Israel-Lebanon border and the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty. When the Israeli government completed its withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in 2000, one might have expected that this international principle would have been asserted, and a concerted UN effort begun to rid Lebanon of the Syrian army and other foreign forces — notably those of Iran.

Unfortunately, the situation in Lebanon was totally neglected, and ominous developments followed. Israel’s withdrawal to what the UN called the “blue line” was recognized by Secretary-General Kofi Annan as a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. His determination was confirmed by the UN Security Council on July 27, 2000, with the adoption of Resolution 1310. But the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hizballah claimed that Israel actually had more land to give to Lebanon. In particular, they wanted a tiny sliver of Golan territory, called the Shebaa Farms, that had been disputed between Israel and Syria.

This outstanding grievance, which had no international backing, was used to justify Hizballah’s continuing war against Israel. But rather than forcefully reject Hizballah's stand, different UN agencies seemed to treat the organization as a legitimate party to Lebanon’s conflict with Israel. It was disturbing to see Secretary-General Kofi Annan shaking hands with Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on June 20, 2000, during a visit to Beirut. The UN strategy was to give Hizballah some recognition and thereby obtain good behavior on its part. To make matters worse, UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force, sent liaison officers to Hizballah. But this approach only legitimized an organization that, prior to 9/11, was widely viewed as more dangerous than al-Qaeda.

What made Hizballah's decision to maintain its dispute with Israel so dangerous was Iran’s decision to deploy medium-range missiles in southern Lebanon, aimed at Israel’s northern cities. In 2002, Lebanese media reported the arrival of Iranian Revolutionary Guards to train Hizballah in the use of these new weapons, known as the Fajr 3 and Fajr 5, which, unlike the older Soviet-made Katyusha rockets, had a range of up to 70 kilometers. Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon, but in return, not only had it acquired a more powerful Hizballah, but also Iranian forces taking up positions directly on its borders.

The situation was eerily reminiscent of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Then, the Soviet Union had only unreliable intercontinental ballistic missiles for striking the U.S., so they positioned shorter-range missiles in nearby Cuba instead. Today, the Iranians have a 1,300-kilometer-range Shahab missile for striking Israel, and are working feverishly to improve its capabilities, while investing in longer-range missiles aimed at Western Europe. Teheran doubtless calculates that if the West tries to take measures against its nuclear program, its Lebanese arsenal could hold Israel hostage. The difference between 1962 and 2006 is that, while President Kennedy made sure that the Soviets withdrew their missiles from Cuba, the international community has done nothing about the growing missile threat in Lebanon.

International attention was drawn again to Lebanon in 2005 after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by Syrian agents and the “Cedar Revolution” that followed. The UN Security Council called yet again (in Resolution 1559) for all non-Lebanese forces to leave Lebanon. This time it added a call “for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias,” and repeated its 2004 call to the Lebanese government “to ensure its effective authority throughout the south, including the deployment of Lebanese armed forces.” The UN Security Council wanted the Lebanese Army sitting on the Israeli-Lebanese border — not Hizballah.

Had UN resolutions on Lebanon been implemented, then no Israeli soldiers would have been kidnapped in northern Israel this month and there would be no Hizballah rockets raining on Israeli civilians in Haifa, Nahariya, Safed, and Tiberias.

So what should be the aims of the entire Western alliance — including Israel — in the current conflict? The chief goals are:

First, full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions that call for the complete dismantling of Hizballah and the deployment of the Lebanese army along the Israel-Lebanon border instead.

Second, the removal of all Iranian forces and equipment from Lebanese territory, along with any lingering Syrian presence.

A Regional War
At the same time, there is a need to recognize that this is a regional war. Iran is seeking to dominate Iraq, particularly its southern Shia areas — the provinces where British troops are deployed — and hopes to encircle both Israel and the Sunni heartland of the Arab world. Syria is Iran's main Arab ally in this effort. There is no question that Iran’s main aim is to dominate the oil-producing areas by agitating the Shia populations of Kuwait, Bahrain, and the eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia.

Defeating Iran’s opening shot in this Middle Eastern war is not just Israel’s interest, but the collective interest of the entire civilized world. Israel’s strategy depends upon isolating the Hizballah insurgency in Lebanon from any reinforcement from Iran and its allies by air, land, or sea. Hence, Israel has had to bomb the runways of Beirut International Airport and the Beirut-Damascus highway, and impose a naval blockade around Lebanon.

The Gaza Front
Finally, there is a second front in this war: the Gaza Strip. The Hamas movement, which came out of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, has decided to throw in its lot with Shia Iran and Hizballah. Indeed, just after Israel withdrew its settlements from the Gaza Strip last August, Hizballah moved its headquarters for coordination with the Palestinians from Beirut to Gaza itself. Iran is paying for Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians. Like Hizballah, Hamas has embedded its military capabilities in civilian areas. Israeli planes drop leaflets to warn Palestinian civilians of impending attacks, even if they give the terrorists advance warning as well.

Israel must protect its own civilians from ongoing missile attacks, whether from Lebanon or the Gaza Strip. The first duty of any government is the defense of its citizens. It is also Israel's legal right as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. International media are focusing on Israeli air strikes on Beirut, leading viewers to forget that Israel is the victim in this conflict. Its air force would not be in the skies of Lebanon and its tanks would not be in northern Gaza if Israel had not been attacked first.

In this context, primary responsibility for what is happening rests squarely with Iran and its local proxies. Our common adversaries want to replace the hope for Arab democracy with a dictatorial theocracy. The international community must see the UN resolutions on Lebanon implemented and international security restored. That is the first step towards securing a pluralistic Middle East, founded on representative government and respect for international law.

Dore Gold is the President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN from 1997 to 1999

This Jerusalem Issue Brief is available online at:
http://www.jcpa.org/brief/brief006-1.htm

Dore Gold, Publisher; Yaakov Amidror, ICA Program Director; Mark Ami-El, Managing Editor. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (Registered Amuta), 13 Tel-Hai St., Jerusalem, Israel; Tel. 972-2-5619281, Fax. 972-2-5619112, Email: jcpa@netvision.net.il. In U.S.A.: Center for Jewish Community Studies, 5800 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215; Tel. 410-664-5222; Fax 410-664-1228. Website: www.jcpa.org. © Copyright. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the Board of Fellows of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

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Quotations to Remember

I see as I begin to compose this message that it has been a year since I created this blog. A year. Twelve full months. A lot has happened in those months, of course, but to think that twelve of them have gone by completely boggles my mind. And then I note how few posts I have made in the course of those twelve months, and I have to smile. It's not that I haven't had anything to say; quite the opposite, in fact. But there are so many things that it would be so imprudent to say online, where they will live on in perpituity, that the trouble has been finding things to say that won't get me into trouble at some point down the line. I have no quarrel with trouble in general, when it comes from standing up for something I believe in. But I would prefer that a potential future employer not find my site and discover that I support medical marijuana, for example, and assume that I am a pothead, or find that my political rantings directly conflict with her own. These are subjects best left to the sphere of in-person conversation, I believe, at least for now.

So why have a blog? Well, because I can. And just in case I ever have something to say -- and a desire to sit down at my computer during one of my few free hours in order to say it-- that I feel like putting out there for anyone and everyone to see. Today, I felt like posting a handful of quotes that I find particularly inspiring, or beautiful, or entertaining. That way, if I should ever lose any of the small slips of paper on which I have collected them, I still won't have lost them. Because, after all, once they're online, they're there to stay.

So, without further ado, today's collection:

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be under the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -- James Madison [Think we can manage to slip a copy of "The Federalist Papers" to George W.? He might learn something.]

Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- E. Hemingway

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it. -- J. M. Barrie

One of my greatest pleasures in writing has come from the thought that perhaps my work might annoy someone of comfortably pretentious position. Then comes the saddening realization that such people rarely read. -- John Kenneth Galbraith

Soyez comme l'oiseau posé pour un instant
sur des rameaux trop frêles
qui sent ployer la branche, et qui chante pourtant
sachant qu'il a des ailes -- Victor Hugo, "Les Chants du crépuscule"
Translation: Be like the bird perched for a moment
on branches too weak
who feels the branch give way, and sings anyway
knowing that he has wings.

I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart, and that is softness of head. -- T. Roosevelt

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. -- Edmund Burke

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. -- Herm Albright

L'âme a des illusions comme l'oiseau a des ailes; c'est ce qui la soutient. -- Victor Hugo
Translation: The soul has illusions like the bird has wings; that's what sustains it.

You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. -- Anne Lammott

If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it. -- Brendan Francis

If everyone likes you, you have failed to stand up for something important. -- ??