The Cancer of Jihadism

It is enlightening to listen to the pundits and world leaders chattering about diplomatic initiatives to produce a ceasefire in the Middle East oblivious to how damaging their efforts are to the long term interests of those they foolishly think they are helping. It is founded on an inadequate appreciation of the threat. A ceasefire is another word for appeasement and radical Muslim terrorists can not be appeased. The current flare-up in the Middle East is only the central focus of a global Jihadist movement that has been in evidence around the world for decades, in Iraq and India, most recently, and now Lebanon and Gaza. It has appeared in London, Bali, and New York City. Its goal is to establish by violent means a pre modern pan-Islamic state that would vanquish all traces of rights and freedoms. Its chief adversary is the West, a heretofore preeminent force, but now greatly attenuated. It consists of a culturally weakened US that has under funded its military and a robust but small state of Israel, what the terrorists refer to as the Crusaders and Zionists. Europe is no longer a viable force; it is a crumbling icon of the magnificent continent that for centuries dominated the world and bequeathed its wondrous legacy of Western Civilization. It is this civilization that is now under attack; its chief outpost is the liberal democracy of Israel who defends the citadel of freedom from the barbarians.

The divide in the conflict is manifest, and yet so many otherwise well informed individuals have trouble discerning it. In 2000, Israel withdrew from Lebanon, in 2005, from Gaza, including even those dead and buried. Not one Jew, dead or alive was left in order to comply with the international dictum that Gaza be Jew-free. This was itself folded into the broader notion that Israeli “occupation” underlay the vicious terrorism of Hamas and Hezbollah and that by ending it the terror would cease. But then came the killing and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and the ongoing rocket fire, occurring within Israel proper, across internationally recognized borders, exposing the intentions of the terrorists not to end the occupation but Israel itself.

But the elites concern themselves only with Israel. They bemoan the civilian casualties and “disproportionate” response. Yet how is Israel to root out the miscreants? They purposely conceal themselves within civilian centers. They wear no uniforms and fire rockets from populated areas, using civilians as human shields. Israel, which employs only a fraction of its firepower, endeavors to limit civilian loss, but collateral damage in this context is inevitable.

Why not pressure Hezbollah? They are, after all, the terrorists, an army allied with Iran and Syria that deliberately targets civilians, operating independently within Lebanon. It is they who launched the current crisis, taking Lebanon hostage and dragging it into this maelstrom. Could they not end hostilities by laying down their arms as called for by UN Resolution 1559 and returning the kidnapped soldiers?

It is also interesting to note the selective concern of elites for civilian casualties - when occurring at the hands of Israel. Does anyone speak of the 4 million who have died in the Congo? Of the 300,000 killed in Darfur? Or the 85,000 dead in Chechnya? The concern for casualties while perhaps legitimate also betrays a bias. There are many more that are dying and suffering elsewhere for which the world sheds hardly a tear.

The media also seem eager to portray terrorists and supporters sympathetically and with “evenhandedness.” Hence, we are treated to interviews with emissaries from Hezbollah and Syria, and with families of suicide bombers. We hear frequently from civilians affected by Israeli actions. And the press comments continually on Hezbollah's community service. Did the media of a different era confer with Nazi or Japanese leaders? Did they interview German civilians after the bombing of Dresden? Did they discuss the social efforts of our enemies? With a media as obtuse as today's, could we have triumphed during World War II?

There is a deadly cancer at work in the world. It is centered in the Middle East, but it is a global movement. Its central sponsor is Iran, with Syria an accomplice, and proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. The infestation has spread to Europe, North America, and Asia. The current crisis in Lebanon is only one manifestation of it. The battle against Hezbollah and Hamas is our battle; it is the free world's battle; it is the flashpoint of the clash of civilizations. Lebanon could be a democratic nation. It cannot achieve this until Hezbollah is defeated. The world must allow Israel to complete its work.