(Jerusalem Post) Gil Troy - The U.S. must support Israel aggressively, allowing Israel to punish any violations of the ceasefire with Hizbullah, no matter how minor. The ceasefire will only last if Israel's 80,000 northern evacuees can return home and rebuild, while Hizbullah terrorists avoid Southern Lebanon, knowing they'll be crushed if they dare return. Yes, my language is aggressive, but not enough people realize that strength brings peace and weakness brings war, especially against jihadists. We kept hearing that Hizbullah fighters were professional, their missiles plentiful, Tel Aviv's towers were vulnerable, and weeks-long electrical outages were possible. Then Israel changed everything. And no, my delicate friends warning that violence begets more violence, you're wrong. These attacks were as surgical as it gets in warfare against jihadi maniacs who cower behind civilians. Israel has degraded Hizbullah and demeaned its Iranian paymasters. I haven't heard any Americans regret their advice to slow down, avoid conflict, and try to appease Hizbullah. Similarly, having seen the IDF overrun Hamas in Rafah with limited civilian casualties, few Americans admitted they were wrong for constantly trying to restrain Israel. Such stubbornness amuses me as an Israeli, because we won anyway. But it terrifies me as an American historian. The unwillingness of people in power to acknowledge mistakes prevents them from learning from them. The writer, a Distinguished Scholar of North American History at McGill University, is a Senior Fellow in Zionist Thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute.
2024-12-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive