Only when the initiators of force learn that their actions lead to their own destruction, will peace be possible in the Middle East.
As Israeli soldiers reenter Gaza and bomb Lebanon, and Israeli citizens seek shelter from Hezbollah's missiles, the world despairingly wonders whether peace between Israel and its neighbors can ever take root. It can — but only if America reverses course.
To achieve peace in the Middle East, as in any region, there is a necessary principle that every party must learn: the initiation of force is evil. And the indispensable means of teaching it is to ensure that the initiating side is defeated and punished. Decisive retaliatory force must be wielded against the aggressor. So long as one side has reason to think it will benefit from initiating force against its neighbors, war must result. Yet this is precisely what America's immoral foreign policy gives the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Hezbollah reason to think.
Israel is a free country, which recognizes the rights of its citizens, whatever their race or religion, and which prospers through business and trade. It has no use for war and no interest in conquest. But for years, Arafat and the Palestinian authorities, with the aid of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other states, sought not to learn the conditions of freedom, but to annihilate the only free nation in their midst: Israel. Did the United States demand that the Palestinian leadership be destroyed?
No. Clinton invited Arafat to dine at the White House and Bush declared that peace requires Israel to give in to its aggressor's insistence on a state.
Worse still, as part of the "two state solution" announced in 2002, Bush demanded that Israel withdraw to its pre-1967 borders. In 1967 Israel captured the Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza Strip after yet another attempt by Arab nations to annihilate it. To give back any of this land — as Israel has done in the face of international pressure — teaches the Arabs that they can launch wars against Israel with impunity. If they at first do not succeed militarily, they need only continue issuing threats against Israel and arming more suicide-bombers — and eventually the land they lost in a war they initiated will be returned to them. They can then start the process anew, as they have since Israel withdrew from Lebanon and Gaza.
In order to move toward his "two state solution," Bush championed elections in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, which predictably brought Hamas and Hezbollah into government. Terrorism, Bush is thus teaching the killers, is the means to political power.
The reason peace eludes the Middle East is therefore not difficult to discern. The lesson President Bush is conveying to the Arabs and Islamists — that the initiation of force is practical — is a continuation of the lesson America's foreign policy has been teaching them for decades. The Egyptians seized the Suez canal from the French and British in 1956 — and we demanded that the Europeans not retaliate. Israel had the Palestinian terrorists surrounded in Lebanon in 1982 — and we brokered their release. Many Arabs idolized a terrorist for hijacking airliners and murdering civilians — and we poured money into his regime, hailed him for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, and demanded that Israel enter into a protracted "peace process" that consisted of concession after concession. What possible conclusion could the Arab world draw but that the initiation of force is practical? So long as they have grounds to believe that, war is inescapable.
If we truly seek peace, we must reverse this perverse lesson. We must proclaim the objective conditions of peace. This means declaring to Arab nations that Israel, as a free country, has a moral right to exist, that the Arabs and Palestinians are the initiators of the conflict and that aggression on their part is evil and will not be tolerated. And it means encouraging Israel not to negotiate and compromise with its current assailants, but to destroy them.
Only when the initiators of force learn that their actions lead not to world sympathy and political power, but to their own deaths, will peace be possible in the Middle East.
Mr. Ghate refutes the misguided liberal mantra that we must negotiate with terrorists because otherwise, if we destroy them, we will breed more of them. The liberal mantra is based on faulty logic and an ignorance of the lessons of experience.
First, if a terrorist group initiates violence, then the group must be defeated, not appeased. Appeasement tells the terrorist that there is a pay-off for his terror. And so he uses terror because it works for him. That he gets what he wants is proof that his methods work. This is the reason Arafat and the Palestinian authorities continued the path of terrorist war rather than the path of peace. Appeasement, not force, is what breeds and emboldens the terrorist. However, if the pay-off for the terrorist is eliminated, he is rendered impotent. Evil doers are best overcome by defeating them with overwhelming and superior force. As Mr. Ghate says “the initiation of force is evil.” Rewarding this evil with negotiation and appeasement may also be evil. Mr. Ghate is correct: “Decisive retaliatory force must be wielded against the aggressor.” This is the lesson of experience.
Great article. Well said in a few words.
Very true, but until we hold the average Arab/Persian muslim citizen accountable for supporting the very beliefs that create terrorism and allowing the terrorists state we will go on and on and on and on fighting but not winning the war. For example, two days ago, there were repeated reports showing Iranians and Syrian average citizens gleefully sending money in support of Hezbollah.
The so called average arab citizen voluntarily supports terrorism and should be made to pay the price by at least the US using all the technological will (bombing, UAVs, long range cruise missiles, etc) at our disposal vice nukes, of course. No nukes until that time comes and it will someday because we will not solve the problem with the average ME muslim until they truly fear us and our reprisals.
Conducting all out bombing campaigns against our true enemy and beating them until they are too tired to raise their arms in submittion is probably a better option than hand to hand combat or trading the useful life of 22000 American troops trying to pinpoint individual terrorists which will do very little in the long run. Think of Germany and Japan after WWII which was brutal but very effective for world peace in the long run.
Mr. Ghate almost made me mad but I kept reading and discovered that he is right
I agree with Dean. If you have studied WWII history you will have read about the destruction of cities in Germany such as Dresden. In the pacific war, the US Army Air Corps. virtually burn the entire Japanese nation to the ground. In one such raid they dropped hundreds of tons of bombs and turned Tokyo in a vast wasteland killing some 80,000 people. The firestorm that was created was seen for miles. The use of such force is sadly neccessary to defeat an enemy totally so that he no longer has the will, nor means to fight on.
I would add here that once that can be achieved the next step is the rebuilding of these nations in the mold of western nations, wherein the citizens see the virture in a free economy and a free society.
For years I keep hearing how it is because these nations are so poor that they turn to terror as a means towards and end. Yet there are many nations in Africa that are even poorer and the last time I looked they weren’t blowing up innocent civilians. Or how about in our own country? The folks that live in the Appalicain regions of KY, VA, WVA, TN, are some of the poorest people in this nation but I have yet to hear of them strapping bombs onto their kids, and blowing up coffeeshops
Thats because they (non muslim africans, appalachians) are not followers of Nazism reincarnate and repackaged as one of the world’s greatest religions (Pres. George Bush).
This article misses the most important point : the Arabs don’t feel like they are the “initiating side”. To them, Israel is and they are just defending themselves. They feel like the kidnapping of israeli soldiers was justified by the numerous Palestinians (many of them children) currently in israeli jails.
I’m not saying I agree with them. But I believe it is biased to say that, on one side, we have the initiating party and, on the other side, the good guys just defending themselves. The cycle of violence in Middle-East is made of endless retaliations. Yes, arab terrorists are targetting civilians. But israeli soldiers have killed many innocent people while trying to defeat their foes. In fact, they are doing so right now. Israel’s use of force is extremely disproportionate and its only foreseeable consequence will be to increase anti-Israel feelings in the region.
By the way, criticizing President Bush for not supporting Israel enough is like criticizing Jack Chick for going too soft on gay people.
Mr. Baudry is right there have been endless retaliations in Israel, but almost all of them have been by Muslims against Israelis. There is more of a propaganda of Israeli offenses then there are actual offenses. I think you have bought too much into the propaganda. The latest attacks come hard on the heels of years of Israelis making concession after concession trying to buy peace at all costs. What concessions have Muslims made or even mentioned? None. What restraint have Muslims shown or attempts made to control their own terrorists? They won’t, but applaud every murdering act as heroism.
What you don’ realize is that if the Muslims lose here it is not the end for them. If the Israelis lose, it’s all over.
Lets see, I don’t remember Israelis blowing up hundreds of aircraft, a wheelchair bound man on a cruise ship,, pizzarias frequented by school children, shooting and killing olympic atheletes, blowing up 3000 innocents in skyscrapers, targeting school busses, bus stops, discos, cafeterias, markets, funerals etc.
Oh but wait, I do know for a fact that arab and persian muslims do in fact deliberately target those places where innocent civilians live and work. By the way, if Hezbollah is so very successful in the field of hospitals and urban social work, how do they do it? By the work of so called arab muslims who everyday support the murderous terrorist organization itself by their very own efforts. Much like the so called average german supported the nazis.
All islam=Nazism reborn.
“Only when the INITIATORS of force learn that their actions lead not to world sympathy and political power, but to their own deaths, will peace be possible in the Middle East.”
Israel has already developed and utilised an effective strategy – “targetted killings” aka assassination. This has been used very effectively against mid-level planners and some high-level planners – it would arguably of been more effective if they hit more of the high-level planners. The “old men” who sacrifice their young.
Until there is “total” war, as opposed to “limited” war, the idea of wholesale bombing of civilians is repugnant.
To Dean, I can understand your viewpoint, however your viewpoint echos an argument I saw during the eighties.
“until we hold the average Arab/Persian muslim citizen accountable for supporting the very beliefs … repeated reports showing Iranians and Syrian average citizens gleefully sending money in support of Hezbollah.”
During the eighties (mainly) there was a bombing campaign in the country where I lived (certainly not as indiscriminant and bloody as what can be found in the ME – and what Israel has suffered). The bombers had a political wing that was effective in raising funds to support the social services and the like. They were able to raise large amounts of funds from “average citizens” in support of the bombers. The country where I lived ran a “shoot to kill” policy against the bombers and their sympathisers- and was roundly criticised for doing so.
The country where I lived (and I am from) is the United Kingdom.
The bombers were the Provos – the I.R.A.
The fund raisers were NORAID (which even got 501(c)3 status in the US)
The “average citizens” giving them money were US citizens.
Negotiation has bought about a “truce” although the paramilitaries remain.
Forgive my cynicism, but alot of the arguments I am seeing are ones repeated from the past seeking to repeat the mistakes of the past. However unintentionally.
Good point, but the average Irish/English person did not take their campaign outside of their disputed lands. They did not bomb many locations around the world or hijack airliners. But I see your point.
Muhammed said that St. Gabriel (Archangel) appeared to him and showed him the only way, i.e. Islam. Muhammed says, describing as much in the Koran, that the heretofor rather benevolent Angel of The Annunciation (Of course, now, it turns out, according to Islam, he was announcing nothing..) said to kill all Jews and infidels unless they agree to be your slaves. The angel then announces that if while killing the infidels you experience death there’s a great big orgy in heaven with 72 virgins and 11 boys like pearls. The angel also eliminates all your financial debts. This would be a big selling point with Bedouin Nomads of the desert. The angel says you can kill all Jews and infidels and take their property. This was also big with the Nomads of the desert. Sound like any angels you know? Save the one-of-light, that is. Dean is right.
Here is a thought. How about we let them fight this to a conclusion. I think the only way to peace is for one side to win. That means the other must lose. We are speaking of war after all, not some children on a playground. Or we can continue down this path and watch the destruction of succesive generations. When was the last agreement or treaty that solved anything? What resolution has ever solved this? If talk worked peace would have broken out all over the world before now. I say Dean has the right of it. Let Israel finish the job.
Let Israel punish the people of Lebanon, those who support Hezbollah as well as those who were complicit by their spineless silence toward the invasion of Lebanon by Hezbollah. Consequences are the only teachers, and they haven’t been significant enough to make Islamists stop. Condi needs to go shoe shopping and rethink showing up 2 weeks into an unfinished war offering a billion dollars of our money to rebuild. There has not been enough time for them to learn the lesson. Islamist’s hate Jews first and everyone else eventually. When their bombs killed Israeli Arabs, Hezbollah’s Nasrallah apoligized for their death, but guaranteed those dead Israeli Arab Muslims family that they were martyrs and their killing unintentional. What further proof that it’s about death to the Jews, not the polotical boundaries of Israel. Oh, I understand that Hitler is a very popular name among the new generation of Hezbollah, wonder why.
Anyone who takes innocent life for their own gain is a terrorist. The “War on Terror” is an oxymoronic euphemism for squelching anyone that might dissent against our vision of a global Pax Americana. And praise God, with the help of Israel we are winning!!