Some thoughts on the war

Like most people I have been paying close attention to the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hezbollah. I know a lot of my friends are very encouraged by what's happening because they want Israel to win but I am saddened as I watch the news and see all the destruction. This is especially true as I see Lebanon (one of the few democracies in the region) get decimated. As much I hate war though, there is a time and place for it and this is that time.

It seems like there has been a recent call by many in the media for a cease fire. Thus far the Bush team has resisted such talk and I am encouraged by that. Yes, a cease fire would temporarily end the violence but it won't end the war. You don't need to be shooting rockets at each to be at war with each other. Just look at the cold war for example. We had several years where we never fired a single shot against Russia and yet we were in a full scale struggle to determine the fate of the 20th century. Even most recently, radical Islam has been at war with us for decades yet we were not even fully aware of it until September 11th.

This particular war is nothing new. Israel and the Islamic extremists have been at war for a long time even during the so called peaceful times. You see peace is not the absence of conflict but rather when one power has the upper hand as to deter the other from attacking. This is the principle of peace through strength and it has worked for a long time.

If Israel were to now listen to the world and arrange a cease fire they would be quitting before they actually made enough progress to restrain their enemy. All a cease fire would do at this point is allow Hezbollah a chance to regroup and build up their strength to attack at a time when it's more beneficial to them. I think we should pay special attention to this point as it pertains to our own war with Islam and maybe give pause to the growing chorus to withdraw from Iraq even though the work is not yet done. Our withdrawl will not end the war and we should not leave until we are strong enough to deter our enemy from attacking.

The other idea that keeps coming to mind as I examine these events is how Iran has badly overplayed their hand. Much of the war on terror is being facilitated and propped up by Iran. They are fueling a large portion of the resistance in Iraq and of course they are using Hezbollah as a pawn to attack Israel. The whole timing of the war was planned to distract the world from Iran's quest to become a nuclear power. They also wanted to take the our attention away from Iraq and make the US focus on several battle fronts. I think they also thought they could drive a further wedge between the US and certain allies like Russia and France.

The reality is just the opposite. The world and our allies have for the most part been restrained in their condemnation against Israel. Instead the event has opened many sleeping eyes and brought Iran to the forefront as the leading trouble maker in the region. And rather than pitting us against our allies, this war has pitted the moderate Muslim states like Jordan, Egypt and Turkey against Iran. They want no part in stirring the anger and retribution of Israel. What's more, because Iran had to use a surrogate army to attack they revealed their own cowardice to attack directly. Say what you want about the war in Iraq but the US is walking the walk in that war and demonstrated that we are willing to risk our troops and even our reputation to combat Islamic extremism. Iran on the other hand looks like the man behind the curtain who talks tough but has others do their bidding. I think this war will hurt their reputation and will only enhance their wanting to build the bomb so they can claim their role as the Muslim superpower. Without the bomb they are just another third world tyranny.

As the following weeks play out, I hope the world maintains their support for Israel to defend themselves and that Hezbollah is thoroughly destroyed. If that happens, there won't be peace in the middle east but at least there will be a little less fighting.