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Israel Acts to Defend Itself, By Itself
(National Interest) Daniel R. DePetris - Israel has illustrated throughout its history that it has no hesitancy in taking offensive measures to preserve its security and maintain its military superiority in the region. In 1982, despite loud opposition from the international community and rising anger from President Ronald Reagan, Israel bombed Beirut to flush out Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization. A year before, Israel bombed Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility in the Iraqi desert; the fact that the world would likely condemn such a raid (which it did in a UN Security Council resolution with Washington's support) was seen as minor in relation to the security gains that would result from a destroyed Iraqi WMD facility. Throughout the Syrian civil war, Israel has conducted dozens of strikes on weapons convoys, Syrian army bases, and an Iranian base to prevent advanced weapons from being transported to Hizbullah. The 2007 operation against a nearly finished Syrian nuclear plant is one more case of Israel defending itself, by itself. When a danger is viewed as imminent or existential to the very presence of the state, Israeli prime ministers will authorize military force - even if the U.S., its most important ally, decides to stay away from the action.