The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back
Ladies and gentlemen, Israel has had enough:
The militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others in an attack along the Israel-Lebanon border Wednesday morning. Four more Israeli soldiers were killed when troops and tanks crossed the border in pursuit of the captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the ambush an "act of war" and said Hezbollah would pay a "heavy price," the Associated Press reported. He said Israel's response would be "restrained but very, very, very painful." The assault followed the June 25 capture by Palestinian gunmen of an Israeli soldier just outside the Gaza Strip; Israel has launched a major offensive in response to that abduction.
Israel will hold the government of Lebanon "fully responsible" for Hezbollah's actions, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said in a statement. He said the government "must act immediately and seriously to locate" the missing soldiers, "to prevent any harm done to them and to return them to Israel."
The White House demanded the immediate release of the Israeli soldiers and said it held Syria and Iran -- longstanding supporters of Hezbollah -- responsible for what it called an "unprovoked act of terrorism" by the Lebanese group.
Syria blamed Israel for the violence and denied any role in the abductions of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah or Palestinian gunmen. Iran did not immediately comment on Wednesday's developments but expressed general support Wednesday for the "resistance in Palestine." Lebanon's prime minister said his government did not condone Hezbollah's cross-border attack, and he condemned the Israeli retaliation.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah said the ambush was aimed at forcing the release of prisoners in Israel. He said the two Israeli soldiers would be released only through a prisoner exchange.
Israel, at this point, cannot back down. The potential for all-out war against Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah group. They have called up their reserve pilots, and it is likely they will spin up more reserves before this is all said and done. They were provoked into this war, and they seem to be more than willing to oblige their enemies with a fight they have been pushing for months.
Acts of war have been committed by their enemies, and Israel has decided that now is the time to make their stand. They are sick of the Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza. They are finished with their enemies kidnapping soldiers and civilians. As Thomas would say, the chessboard is set, the battle is commenced. There will be no calling "time-out" halfway through this fight. Israel will not grant it. They know all too well what happens when such cease fires are called. In the end, they have to reengage these people. This time, it appears, that there will be no return to the status quo.
The United States has condemned the kidnappings, and as yet, has said nothing about their incursion into Lebanon. We have urged restraint in their reentry to Gaza (a point that both Thomas and I disagree with; it is wrong for the United States to promote restraint when we, ourselves, do not abide by that with our own enemies). No, we need to stay out of this, and allow Israel to defend itself. Now, if there is the possibility that the war could escalate, possibly involving a literal nuclear option, then we can step in and preach restraint on behalf of the innocents that would suffer such an attack or retaliation.
But if the world starts screaming that Israel is out of line, those people need to be ignored. The world needs to let Israel attend to its problems. If that means that they are going to be especially hard on the Palestinians or Hezbollah, then so be it. As it appears now, there are terrorists on either side that need to be eradicated. Some innocent lives may be lost, and that is a tragedy. However such things are a common occurrence in war, and Israel is quite obviously at war.
Marcie
Ladies and gentlemen, Israel has had enough:
The militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others in an attack along the Israel-Lebanon border Wednesday morning. Four more Israeli soldiers were killed when troops and tanks crossed the border in pursuit of the captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the ambush an "act of war" and said Hezbollah would pay a "heavy price," the Associated Press reported. He said Israel's response would be "restrained but very, very, very painful." The assault followed the June 25 capture by Palestinian gunmen of an Israeli soldier just outside the Gaza Strip; Israel has launched a major offensive in response to that abduction.
Israel will hold the government of Lebanon "fully responsible" for Hezbollah's actions, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said in a statement. He said the government "must act immediately and seriously to locate" the missing soldiers, "to prevent any harm done to them and to return them to Israel."
The White House demanded the immediate release of the Israeli soldiers and said it held Syria and Iran -- longstanding supporters of Hezbollah -- responsible for what it called an "unprovoked act of terrorism" by the Lebanese group.
Syria blamed Israel for the violence and denied any role in the abductions of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah or Palestinian gunmen. Iran did not immediately comment on Wednesday's developments but expressed general support Wednesday for the "resistance in Palestine." Lebanon's prime minister said his government did not condone Hezbollah's cross-border attack, and he condemned the Israeli retaliation.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah said the ambush was aimed at forcing the release of prisoners in Israel. He said the two Israeli soldiers would be released only through a prisoner exchange.
Israel, at this point, cannot back down. The potential for all-out war against Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah group. They have called up their reserve pilots, and it is likely they will spin up more reserves before this is all said and done. They were provoked into this war, and they seem to be more than willing to oblige their enemies with a fight they have been pushing for months.
Acts of war have been committed by their enemies, and Israel has decided that now is the time to make their stand. They are sick of the Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza. They are finished with their enemies kidnapping soldiers and civilians. As Thomas would say, the chessboard is set, the battle is commenced. There will be no calling "time-out" halfway through this fight. Israel will not grant it. They know all too well what happens when such cease fires are called. In the end, they have to reengage these people. This time, it appears, that there will be no return to the status quo.
The United States has condemned the kidnappings, and as yet, has said nothing about their incursion into Lebanon. We have urged restraint in their reentry to Gaza (a point that both Thomas and I disagree with; it is wrong for the United States to promote restraint when we, ourselves, do not abide by that with our own enemies). No, we need to stay out of this, and allow Israel to defend itself. Now, if there is the possibility that the war could escalate, possibly involving a literal nuclear option, then we can step in and preach restraint on behalf of the innocents that would suffer such an attack or retaliation.
But if the world starts screaming that Israel is out of line, those people need to be ignored. The world needs to let Israel attend to its problems. If that means that they are going to be especially hard on the Palestinians or Hezbollah, then so be it. As it appears now, there are terrorists on either side that need to be eradicated. Some innocent lives may be lost, and that is a tragedy. However such things are a common occurrence in war, and Israel is quite obviously at war.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:17 PM
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