Guardian: Israel: This is a fight for our survival

[muriel_volestrangler]

An oped piece in The Guardian by an Israeli security cabinet member; a companion piece to one by a Hizbullah official. Posted for information, with no comment by me.

Some may wonder how, as a man of the left and Israel's peace camp, I can at the same time be a member of a government now fighting a war in Lebanon. The answer is the same one that Clement Attlee or even Harold Wilson would have given: when your very existence is under threat, you have the right to defend yourself, and the responsibility to your people to defend their security. Let's be clear: Hizbullah is a terrorist organisation. This is not a political issue, it is not an ideological issue; it is a matter of survival. That is why I and the vast majority of the Israeli population support this military response.

Israel today is facing a sustained onslaught from one of the world's most dangerous and effective terrorist organisations. In the past few days, 1,000 rockets and 1,200 mortar rounds have been hurled across the border by Hizbullah at hospitals, schools and homes. Their intention is the killing and maiming of Israelis in general.

Israel is fighting back. Israel's use of force is entirely proportionate to the extent of the threat that Hizbullah poses. A third of our people are in immediate danger of Hizbullah missiles and are sheltering for fear of their lives. The whole of the north of our country has in effect been shut down. International law recognises the right to respond to the extent of a threat, and Israel has therefore acted within international law.

Our goals are clear. Israel was forced to enter this conflict after an unprovoked attack by Hizbullah terrorists across the border, in which three soldiers were killed, and two kidnapped. The attack, one of many in recent years, was made possible because of an abnormal political situation in Lebanon. Since May 2000 the southern part of that country has effectively been hijacked by a terrorist organisation. Hizbullah controls the border, and administers every aspect of life for the residents of southern Lebanon. The organisation is armed, trained and kept afloat by foreign powers - Iran and Syria are at the forefront.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1827967,00.html

[whistle]

1. Sounds like Dick Cheney has gotten his way, look out U.S. we are

...about to become a full fledged fascist state. Here is what Dick Cheney said just a little over three months ago to the AIPAC:

<snip>
March 7, 2006

Vice President's Remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2006 Policy Conference
The Washington D.C. Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

10:10 A.M. EST

<.....>
As a small country in a tough part of the world, Israel has always had to be on guard against enemies to have a clear-eyed view of potential threats, and to confront dangers squarely. Throughout its history, the country has faced sudden, random acts of terrorism -- attacks intended to shake Israel's confidence and break the will of its people. Yet Israel has held firm, and has defended itself with patience, with moral courage, and decisive action. Those are the very qualities by which freedom is preserved, innocent lives are protected, and wars are won. And by those qualities, Israel, and the United States, and all civilized nations will win the war on terror. (Applause.)

To prevail in this fight, we must understand the nature of the enemy. As Israelis have seen so many times, and as America experienced on September 11th, 2001, the terrorist enemy is brutal and heartless. This enemy wears no uniform, has no regard for the rules of warfare, and is unconstrained by any standard of decency or morality. We are dealing with enemies who plot and plan in secret, then attempt to slip into a country, blend in among the innocent, and kill without mercy.

This enemy has a set of beliefs -- and we saw the expression of those beliefs in the rule of the Taliban. They seek to impose a dictatorship of fear, under which every man, woman, and child lives in total obedience to a narrow, hateful ideology. This ideology rejects tolerance, denies freedom of conscience, and demands that women be pushed to the margins of society. Such beliefs can be imposed only through force and intimidation, so those who refuse to bow to the tyrants will be brutalized or killed -- and no person or group is exempt.

The terrorists have targeted people of every nationality and every religious faith, including Muslims who disagree with them. The war on terror is a fight against evil; victory in this war will be a victory for peaceful men and women of every religious faith. (Applause.)

This enemy also has a set of clear objectives. The terrorists want to end all American and Western influence in the Middle East. Their goal in that region is to seize control of a country, so they have a base from which to launch attacks and wage war against governments that do not meet their demands. The terrorists believe that by controlling one country, they will be able to target and overthrow other governments in the region, and ultimately to establish a totalitarian empire that encompasses a region from Spain, across North Africa, through the Middle East and South Asia, all the way around to Indonesia.

They have made clear, as well, their ultimate ambitions: to arm themselves with chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons; to destroy Israel; to intimidate all Western countries; and to cause mass death here in the United States.
<more>

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060307-1.html

Cheney used the same fu*king lies about WMDs that were used prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and like the American people Israel has bought into the bullshit of this lying bastard Dick Cheney.

[adriennui]

3. posters like you have encouraged me

to up my donations to the IDF.

[whistle]

4. Make your check payable to Halliburton Inc

[barb162]

7. Make yours payable to IDF

[barb162]

6. That was my response

[adriennui]

8. amazing isn't it?

the anti-israel sentiment on liberal/progressive DU baffles me. it's so irrational and insane that i really believe certain posters just hate jews. these same people are quick to forget that israel has been attacked and hated by it's friendly neighbors for decades.

[BayCityProgressive]

2. thank you for this

a great article. I am glad the Guardian gave a voice to both sides in this conflict. You usually get biased news one way or the other.

[barb162]

5. "Israel was forced to enter this conflict

after an unprovoked attack by Hizbullah terrorists across the border, in which three soldiers were killed, and two kidnapped"

Israel is justified in attacking hez.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. after reading this -- I hope everyone reads this article from Nazareth

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0725-35.htm