Israel's Hands Are Full with Hezbollah, Say U.S. Observers
by Bill Fancher
July 25, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Pro-Israel observers acknowledge Hezbollah is a formidable foe for the Jewish nation, and not one to be taken lightly. At least one of those observers contends negotiations in the ongoing Middle East conflict are out of the question because of the terrorist group's deep-seated violent nature. A supporter of Israel says the tiny state is facing a daunting task in its effort to destroy the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah through an air, land, and sea assault. Syndicated columnist Don Feder, a strong supporter of Israel's effort to eradicate Hezbollah, says what the Jewish nation is doing now is "absolutely correct."
But is there any reasonable chance Israel can actually destroy the terrorist group? Feder says that is hard to say. "Lebanon's a large country. They have a lot of places to hide," he notes. "I'm sure that they expected this to happen at some point in time, so they probably have some entrenched installations there.
"Other than invading Lebanon, I'm not sure they can root out Hezbollah completely," he continues. "They can certainly devastate Hezbollah's infrastructure." And Feder says Israel is destroying that infrastructure -- and believes it is the right thing to do.
Meanwhile, a leading conservative in Washington, DC, says any efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Hezbollah demonstrates an ongoing denial that violence is at the very core of Islamic belief. Gary Bauer of American Values says it is time to end the denial that Islam teaches a radical, violent doctrine -- and recent polls bear that out, he says.
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Gary Bauer |
"Seventeen percent of Muslims in England say that they sympathize with the bombers on the London subway and believe that they were martyrs," Bauer points out. "That translates into about 275,000 Muslims in England who are sympathetic to terrorist bombings against their fellow British citizens." Another recent poll in Palestinian-controlled territory found that 70 percent of the people believe it is acceptable to go into Israel, capture soldiers, and bring them back into that territory. That, says Bauer, is a telltale sign. "[T]his is an enemy that cannot be satisfied by negotiations or pieces of paper or diplomats," he observes. "It is going to have to be defeated on the field of battle."
U.N. Involvement? Un-uh, Says Author
Still, negotiations are being considered -- and many diplomats feel the United Nations should intervene in the escalating conflict. But a U.N. critic says it would be a disaster for nations to rely on the international body to resolve the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Commentator Jen Babbin, author of Inside the Asylum: Why the United Nations and Old Europe Are Worse Than You Think, is not pleased that the U.N. could become involved in the conflict. "I think it's a bloody disaster every time those guys touch something like this," he states bluntly.
Babbin says the U.N. has been on the Lebanese-Israeli border for decades -- with nothing to show for it. He points that his book contains a picture of a U.N. outpost on that border, and not more than ten feet away from where a U.N. flag is flying is another flag -- the Hezbollah flag.
"People have told me who have observed this, that [troops at such outposts] use the same telephones, drink the same water -- I mean, these guys are out there playing cribbage with terrorists."
The U.N., says Babbin, makes a mockery of the term "peace-keeping" -- and he doesn't expect that to change overnight.
"I think they have made it comfortable and easy for terrorists to cohabit in that area. They have done precisely nothing to drive the terrorists out," he says. "I think at this point, you have to say that they are at least partially responsible for the growth of the terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon."
Bill Fancher, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
