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August 22, 2006
Commentary: For Israel, Victory was Impossible
It is a miracle, hallelujah! What was once thought impossible has happened; pundits both of the left and of the right agree on something--that Israel lost the Lebanon war. They point out that after the war "Hezbollah is stronger" (by which they mean it is more popular in the Muslim world and better financed than before the war.) They also point out that Israel was unable to stop terrorist attacks which rained in its cities via modified Katyusha rockets. By being unable to achieve its main military objective and by showing weaknesses in its defensive strategy, they argue, Israel lost the war.
Let's not quibble over details; how many fighters Hezbollah lost, how popular it will really be after the euphoria dies down, things we can't either know now or may never know. Let's ask instead: under the present political realities, was it ever possible for Israel to achieve its military objectives?
In a word: no. Israel could have never seriously weakened Hezbollah unless Hezbollah decided to fight an open war, and why would they: all the warriors of the self-proclaimed Party of God had to do to win was to survive. Once the inevitable cease-fire came, they could come out of hiding and celebrate victory, regardless of the body count. Even if its terrorist warriors were killed in large numbers, new servants of Allah could be found, indoctrinated and trained, the money helpfully provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
And neither was Israel in a position to stop the terror-by-rocket strategy. There is nothing original, mind you, about the strategy: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il terrorizes South Korea with his 10,000 pieces of artillery able to bring death and destruction to Seoul. But the effectiveness of the strategy lies in its simplicity; if your target is large enough--a city full of civilians, say--almost any cheap guidance system will do the job.
Unlike South Korea, which could retaliate by defeating the North Korean Army in the battlefield and destroying the North Korean state, Israel had absolutely no options to stop the rocket attacks. They could not have invaded Lebanon with overwhelming force--not even the United States would have supported that. And even if the United States had supported them there was simply no nation-state to destroy, but a terrorist polity able to spring back into life once Israel withdrew.
And so, what should Israel do now? Israel should realize it is unable, by itself, to win such wars. What Israel should not do is entertain fantasies of negotiating itself out of its problems since there is no point in negotiating with those whose purpose in life is to destroy you. Israel should fight wars that buy it time, and wait for the West to destroy Islamic terrorism and the ideology that sustains it, Islam.
Because, yes, dear reader, it is up to us to destroy the Islamic enemy, for better or for worse.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at August 22, 2006 5:50 PM
Comments
Good analysis. Though I'm not convinced that Islam per se, as opposed to Islamism, is the world's enemy.
Posted by: Rob ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 25, 2006 7:44 AM
Rob:
I don't think Islamism is sourced from, for example, Bhuddism. No Islam = no Islamism.
Posted by: Sir Henry Morgan at August 25, 2006 5:37 PM
Yeah, Israel is destined to be a winner-no other outcome is possible for this country very existence.
Posted by: Michael Kerjman at May 26, 2007 1:19 PM
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