Is Israel’s response disproportionate? Many people think so. I on the other hand don’t believe in a proportionate response. What would be a proportionate response anyways? Should Israel kidnap a couple Hezbollah members and then launch a few rockets into southern Lebanon? What would that solve?
Israel’s response should be swift and overwhelming. That is the only way to respond to Hezbollah. Israel can’t negotiate with them. Their goal is the total destruction of Israel and the Jewish population. When faced with an enemy that will stop at nothing short of your annihilation, the only option is to destroy them first. If that means Israel needs to invade Lebanon, then so be it. The government of Lebanon can’t control Hezbollah. In fact, Hezbollah members hold positions in the government. It’s nearly impossible to distinguish between Hezbollah and innocent Lebanese citizens. However, if Israel invades, Hezbollah forces will attack and make it obvious they are not innocent civilians. It’s also a much better idea than sitting back and waiting for Hezbollah to strike within Israel. If Hezbollah is allowed to set the tempo and time of attacks, then Israel loses the strategic advantage.
The world had a chance to address this issue last February when the pro-Syria government fell apart and Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon. If more was done then, perhaps this situation would have never developed. Instead as soon as Syria withdrew, Hezbollah began reinforcing its position in Lebanon. It does appear that at least one country didn’t ignore Lebanon however. A C-802 anti-ship missile which was used to attack an Isreali naval vessel. It’s most probable that the missile was supplied by Iran.
My question for all of the people criticizing Israel is simple. What would have been a proportionate response? How would you respond to an organization dedicated to your destruction? And not just some organization of poor downtrodden rebels. This is a battle hardened group of vicious killers that are being supplied with sophisticated weapons.
Unfortunately their response has had plenty of collateral damage and innocent people have died. Perhaps a measured approach is not what is needed as much as a targetted, surgical attack if that is even possible. Israel’s massive aerial attack is now something their commanders are saying they now regret because it is has turned the population even more against them and has not achieved the objective of slowing down the launching of those rockets. Their military actions seem to only be increasing the recruits among their enemies. I do not understand why they simply did not invest in a missile defense shield to simple render the threat impetent.
Comment by Brennan — Friday 11 August, 2006 @ 13:30