Clarifying the Dogs of War

I was walking through Union Square last night and the usual suspects of the Left were out protesting against Israel. The ISM, the socialists, and the pro-terrorist useful idiots. I know, I was repeating myself. The ISMers had a photo of Rachel Corrie. They called Israel murderers and worse. They blame Israel for the current violence. Did I say these numbnuts were useful idiots?

Obviously, none care nor realize that Israel was not in Gaza for almost a year, and haven't been in Lebanon since 2000. Yet Israel was attacked out of the blue from both locations by terrorist groups dedicated to Israel's destruction. And these useful idiots believe that it was Israel's fault. These terrorists continue to rain death down on Israel with rockets and missiles obtained from terrorist sponsoring regimes in Syria and Iran.

Eight Israelis (other reports say nine) were killed by a katuysha rocket that hit a train station. Dozens more were wounded. Israel believes that the rocket that hit the station was transferred to Hizbullah from Syria. The kind of rockets being fired at Haifa are different than those being fired at Kiyrat Shimona, Safed and the other northern Israeli towns that have come under fire by Hizubllah. Tel Aviv residents have been put on alert for possible attacks as well.

Israel vows to rout Hizbullah. As they must. And yet, this is still war by proxy. Syria and Iran are pulling the strings for Hamas and Hizbullah. And those two countries are doing more than just pulling the strings; they're providing the firepower being used to hit Israel now. Flopping Aces also notes that connection. And Syria continues to want to get mixed up with Israel in a very direct fashion - one that has never ended well for Syria in the past (1967 - lost the Golan, 1973 - IAF buzzing Damascus on a daily basis after the SAMs were eliminated, the Syrian armor was eliminated, and Israel was called off by the US/USSR and UN before Israeli tanks could move on Damascus unmolested). The situation hasn't improved for Syria since then, which is why Syria is using Hamas and Hizbullah.

And the Arab League is split over what to do. That's an interesting development considering that in past wars with Israel, they've been solidly behind Arab aggression towards Israel. This reflects the changed circumstances in the Middle East. Vital Perspective has more details.

Israel has released the names of the three other sailors killed in the strike on their warship. the Hanit.

The three sailors' names were released for publication Saturday. They are: L.-Rtg. Shai Atias, 19, from Rishon Lezion; Fourth Petty Officer Yaniv Hershkovitz, 21, from Haifa; and First Petty Officer Dov Shtierenshos, 37, from Karmiel.

The IAF has hit dozens of katuysha rocket launchers throughout Southern Lebanon. The IDF has reentered Gaza once again, and hit Hamas terrorists. They've also bombed tunnels, which can be used against Israel for attacks or for smuggling arms and terrorists.

The mullahs in Iran continue to praise the Hizbullah attacks on Israel. Nothing quite like having terror regimes spurring on their minions. And Ahmadinejad is projecting once again, saying that Israel is acting like Hitler. Well, considering that Ahmadinejad repeatedly says that the Holocaust hasn't happened and in the next breath calls for the annihilation of Israel, one really has to wonder about his mental stability.

Hizbullah is hiding the rockets in houses, which means that Israeli strikes are all but certain to cause civilian casualties. That's part of Hizbullah's strategy - if enough civilians are killed in Lebanon, the world opinion will force Israel to stop. That's what they're thinking, but in reality all civilian casualties in Lebanon are due to Hizbullah's actions.

The media keeps saying that we're soon to be witnessing an all out war. They're more than two weeks too late. The first major engagement was the invasion of Israel with the killing to two Israelis and the capture of Gilad Shalit more than two weeks ago.

The primary bloggers to check with are Carl in Jerusalem, Israellycool, Dave Bender, Meryl Yourish, Euphoric Reality, Pajamas Media, and Hot Air. Check back with them regularly for updates.

Blue Crab Boulevard, who takes Larry Johnson to task for his nonsensical ravings and outright falsehoods (why does anyone take Johnson seriously?!). Also piling on Johnson's nonsensical ravings that show a truly lunatic mind: LGF, The Jawa Report, and Liberty and Justice.

Some question what Israel's objectives are here. Well, for starters, how about eliminating the terrorist groups that are firing down rockets on Israeli civilians with deadly consequences. Those terrorists are doing more to destabilize the situation in Lebanon than Israel - after all, those missile launches - along with the premeditated attack on an Israeli checkpoint that killed eight soldiers and took two other soldiers back into Lebanon precipitated the crisis in Lebanon.

Recovering those soldiers is a secondary concern now, but one that if the terrorists simply released those three soldiers would diffuse the situation right now. Hizbullah and Hamas are too vested in the continuing violence to stop. They have made promises that they cannot otherwise keep. If they capitulate now without getting something in return from Israel, they'll look weak in the eyes of those that they need support from. In other words, Israel is doing what every other nation (well, most every other nation except France and maybe Spain under the current government) would do instinctively and immediately. They would hit the terrorists firing rockets into their country hard, fast, and without remorse. Some, like Russia, would not engage in niceties like dropping leaflets calling for civilians to leave the area. The Russians would pulverize the entire region into dirt - see Chechyna for how Russia deals with threats of terror. Indeed, even the Arab countries calling for Israel to stop would not hesitate at taking extreme action against those firing into their countries either.

UPDATE:
The Washington Post has more on the Israeli rationale and strategic interests for seeking the elimination of Hizbullah as a functional entity, proxy army of Syria and Iran, and destablizer of Lebanon.

Hezbollah's cross-border raid that captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others has provided a "unique moment" with a "convergence of interests" among Israel, some Arab regimes and even those in Lebanon who want to rein in the country's last private army, the senior Israeli official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing conflict.

Israel and the United States would like to hold out until Hezbollah is crippled.

"It seems like we will go to the end now," said Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon. "We will not go part way and be held hostage again. We'll have to go for the kill -- Hezbollah neutralization."

White House officials said Friday that Bush has called on Israel to limit civilian casualties and avoid toppling the Lebanese government but has not pressured Israel to stop its military action. "He believes that the Israelis have a right to protect themselves," spokesman Tony Snow said in St. Petersburg, where Bush is attending the Group of Eight summit. "The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel."

Specifically, officials said, Israel and the United States are looking to create conditions for achieving one remaining goal of U.N. Resolution 1559, adopted in 2004, which calls for the dismantling and disarming of Lebanon's militias and expanding the state's control over all its territory.

"We think part of the solution to this is the implementation of 1559, which would eliminate that [armed group operating outside the government] and help Lebanon extend all of its authority throughout the whole country," national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley told reporters with Bush in Russia yesterday.

The other part of the resolution calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, which was completed in April last year -- after the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which was widely linked to Syria.

If Lebanon as a first step takes over Hezbollah's stockpiles, which included more than 12,000 rockets and missiles before the current strife began, then cease-fire talks could begin, the Israeli official said.

That's a mighty big if. Lebanon's leadership has to take aggressive action that it has repeatedly put off since Israel left Lebanon in 2000.

Manker, who is a Haifa resident, notes that the Hizbullah attacks on Haifa have a different intention than simply a few people at a time:

As a resident of Haifa, and someone who actually saw, heard, and felt the shockwaves of the blasts. I must say that the purpose of this attack had FAR greater consequences than the MSM wants to tell.

The area they attacked is also filled with quite a few chemical plants. It's rumored that if there is a direct strike when the plant is full, 10,000 people would die instantly. The purpose of this attack was to use Israel's own facilities as a chemical weapon.

Thank G-d that they missed, but I also believe that Israel had the common sense to remove most of the dangerous stuff. But the fact is that you wouldn't know about this unless someone from Haifa would tell you.

We've been told (and I've posted on the subject before) here in the US that terrorists could target chemcial plants in and around the US to cause mass casaulty attack from the explosions at such facilities. Exploding a cyanide or chlorine processing facility could kill tens of thousands of nearby residents. That's precisely what Hizbullah terrorists have in mind. They don't want to kill just a few Israelis. They're going to try and kill all Israelis - and don't care whether Lebanon burns in the process.

The Real Ugly American notes the silence of many on the Left to condemn the Hamas and Hizbullah actions unconditionally.

This is not a case of both sides being equally guilty. Hamas is guilty, Hezbollah is guilty, The Lebanese government and the UN are guilty of not disarming Hezbollah 6 years after Israels withdrawal from Lebanon (honoring their part in a UN resolution) and after said UN resolution called for Hezbollah to disarm. And of course Syria and Iran are guilty of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.

Well, like the anti-Israel protestors I noted in the opening of this posting, the Left can't be bothered with such difficult concepts as facts, or good and evil.

Meanwhile, the media keeps lying about PM Olmert's military background. They say he has none. That's a bald-faced lie and easily corrected if anyone does the slightest bit of fact checking. But this is the big media in the US we're talking about. And to what end? Ah, trying to undermine Israeli strategic and tactical interests by slapping around Israel's Prime Minister's decision making skills. Yeah, never mind that Olmert did serve in the military - like nearly all other Israelis, or that PM Olmert is in constant contact with the IDF General Staff - who advise him regularly.

The point of this to undermine the will to follow Israel down this path.

This path also includes preparing for infantry action, as Israel's military is preparing for ground operations; the Northern Israel command has called up a reserve infantry division.

Laurence Simon has a critique of Michael Totten's take on the situation. Totten had lived in Beirut for six months and has personal knowledge of the region, and even met with Hizbullah representatives. The crux of the argument is thus:

Totten's and Sandmonkey's whines that the IDF is destroying a potential partner against Hezbollah and radicalism are moot in the face of this clear demonstration of Lebanese government's complicity with Hezbollah and terrorism.

It's the old "olive branch and a gun" attitude of Yasser. The world idiotically fell for that ploy, but Israel suffered greatly for it and can no longer afford to again. Put down the gun, because having the oilve branch in one hand and the gun in the other leaves you with no hand free to reach out for peace.

So when Israel says that it's holding the Lebanese government responsible, I can accept that. I can understand it.

Stop waving Lebanese flags for a bit and start burning Hezbollah flags and rooting out anyone who flies them. Because if you don't have the courage to do that, you're just embracing the Hezbollah as your own and will burn with them.

Others blogging include Michelle Malkin, and Powerline.

UPDATE:
Newsweek suggests that Iran is waging a stealthy war against the US. It's not a stealthy war when Iran openly calls for Israel's destruction, plays cheerleader for Hamas and Hizbullah, and both Islamic terrorist groups field weapons obtained from Iran. The world should be preparing to deal with Ahmadinejad and the mad mullahs with all due haste, but instead focus their ire and calls for restraint on the Israelis who are dying at the hands of the Iranian proxies. Concern about what Israel's response against Hizbullah is doing to Lebanon is certainly warranted, but so is the Lebanese government's inability to deal with the terror regime in their midst.

The Lebanese Political Journal has more details on what's going on inside Lebanon. The Hizbullah tv station was hit by the Israelis again. From Beirut to the Beltway has additional thoughts on Hizbullah's insanities and wonders what took the Lebanese PM so long to come to his senses about the atrocities done by Hizbullah against his country.

Since many are considering where and how Israel might go about striking Iran, Big Lizards gives possible order of battle. I concur with much of what he says. In fact, it's all the more reason why Iran doesn't want to see Israel strike Syria. Doing so opens up bases from which to strike at the Iranian nuclear research facilities. I also think that the Mossad is already working in both Syria and Iran to pave the way for the next phase should it come to that.


Others covering the conflict: Dan Riehl, Outside the Beltway, Texas Rainmaker, The Moderate Voice (and here as well), Dumb Ox, Solomonia, Atlas Shrugs, Jeff Goldstein, Tigerhawk, WILLism (and here on the missile strike against the Israeli ship Hanit), HotAir, and Rick Moran.

UPDATE:
Free Lebanon claims that Hizbullah has spirited the two Israeli soldiers taken in the Hizbullah raid that killed eight other Israelis to the Iranian embassy in Beirut. It certainly seems plausible. What better way to leave the country than to drop them off in the embassy of your patron.

Jezerel Valley areas have come under attack from Hizbullah, as Israel continues to concentrate on the Beirut airport environs and has targeted Tripoli as well.

The insanity of the far left boggles the mind (even if it's far left Israelis). These people actually think you can negotiate with terrorists who want nothing more than to see you, your entire country go up in flames and subjugate anyone who isn't as Muslim as they are.

And in a switch, the French foreign minister Nicholas Sarkozy says that Israel has a right to defend itself. Glad France gives Israel permission to defend itself against Islamic terrorists who have rained down death and destruction. Chirac says that the terrorists need to be disarmed in South Lebanon. No kidding. Just who is going to do that? The Lebanese? The French? Nope, Israel is going to do it because they have to.

Technorati: terrorism, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Rains, Summer, cavaliers, wrath, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, lebanon, syria.