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Casus Belli

[New Republic] Moshe Yaalon - For years, we were told that the "root cause" of the Middle East's problems was the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, and that peace would come, according to this view, only when Israel finally retreated to its 1967 borders. The "root cause" theory has never looked quite so naive and simplistic as it does this week. The present crisis was initiated - in Gaza by Hamas and in southern Lebanon by Hizballah - from lands that are not under Israeli occupation. Perhaps, then, the conflict is the result of different "root causes": namely, Iran, Syria, and the radical Islamists they sponsor. Only when these states and their terrorist proxies are defeated will the Middle East finally know peace. The radical Shia regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to establish hegemony over the Muslim world, to severely curtail American power, and, ultimately, to provoke the return of the Hidden Imam and thereby usher in a Muslim messianic age. To achieve these goals, Iran is willing to support just about any terrorist organization that will confront the West. Targeting Israel signals Iranian strength to the Muslim populations worldwide that the mullahs hope to lead. Iran also sees the destruction of Israel as a means of neutering - or even as a prelude to destroying - the United States. Ahmadinejad himself has referred to "a world without America." Ahmadinejad and his allies have good reasons to think their plan is working. Islamists take credit for pushing the U.S. out of Lebanon in 1984, the Soviets out of Afghanistan in 1989, the Israelis out of Lebanon in 2000, the Spanish out of Iraq in 2004, and the Israelis out of Gaza in 2005. Iranian influence in the Palestinian territories has been on the rise lately, but, with Iranian proxies evicted from Lebanon, it will become more difficult for the mullahs to aid Palestinian terrorists. In addition, Hamas will see that the international community is resolute in its determination to punish terrorist activity. The question of where Israel ends up setting its permanent borders can no longer be seen as the underlying cause of regional mayhem. That distinction belongs to Syria, Iran, and their radical Islamist proxies. Hemming their power is the best chance Israel and the West have of preventing further bloodshed - and of cutting off terrorism at its real roots. The writer, a distinguished military fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2002 to 2005.
2006-07-24 01:00:00
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