Lebanon Then and Now – Daily Freeman

It was 1982. I was in Israel when the IDF crossed the northern border to eradicate terrorist sanctuaries in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s government called it ‘Operation Peace for Galilee’. The deputy press officer invited me to accompany him to Lebanon.

We went via Tire and Sidon to the outskirts of Beirut. I saw weapons supplied by the Eastern European communist bloc piled up in parking garages, schools, hospitals and other civilian locations. Nothing has changed since then, as the terrorists, who are called by different names but with the same goal, want Israel to bomb these targets, hoping that civilians will be killed, so that Israel will be blamed for ‘attacking civilians ‘.

Forty-two years ago, Lebanese citizens cheered on the IDF and offered free coffee and Lebanese flags to the troops, even to me.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is right to ignore President Biden’s pleas for a ceasefire and a “diplomatic solution.” He’s heard that before and it only allowed Israel’s enemies to regroup for a future attack.

As former Israeli diplomat Yoram Ettinger writes in his newsletter: “Israel is fighting Hezbollah, which is a global epicenter – after the Iranian ayatollahs – of anti-American terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering, stretching from the Middle East to the American continent. As a proxy for Iran’s ayatollahs, Hezbollah has proliferated terrorist cells in the US… and carried out terrorist attacks on US installations in the Middle East and beyond. Furthermore, Hezbollah has collaborated with drug cartels in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil since the early 1980s; has trained Latin American terrorists (en route to the US)… and has systematically attempted to overthrow all pro-American ‘apostate’ Sunni Arab regimes…’

It is not only in Israel’s interest to crush Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, it is also in the interest of the United States, something too many governments have ignored. Instead of supporting Israel’s right to victory over its enemies, these governments, including the current one, continue to cling to the false belief that terrorists can be appeased by giving them what they want. What they want – and openly say they want – is the eradication of the Jewish state, after which they will come after us and, as Ettinger notes, are already on their way. Given our de facto open border, some may already be there.

In 2006, the UN adopted Resolution 1701. Its purpose was to end the war between Israel and the terrorists in Lebanon, who were then and now in control of that country. As the Associated Press reported: “(Under Resolution 1701) the Israeli forces would withdraw completely, while the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL – with the exception of Hezbollah – would be the exclusive armed presence south of Lebanon’s Litani River. The Lebanese state would have full sovereignty over the south. Meanwhile, up to 15,000 UN peacekeepers would help maintain calm, return displaced Lebanese and secure the area together with the Lebanese army. The goal was long-term security, ultimately demarcating land borders to resolve territorial disputes.”

As with so many other issues in the region, the resolution ultimately became hollow.

Lebanon was once known as the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’. Now it is ravaged by war and terrorism, fueled by Islamic fanaticism.

In war, victory must be the only goal, so that the war is not prolonged and new ones begin. It is worth noting two of the greatest victory quotes of two World War II leaders. In 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt said that the war against Germany and Japan would not end until a “total victory” was achieved. In his inaugural speech after becoming Britain’s war leader, Winston Churchill said: “Victory at all costs, victory despite all terror, victory however long and difficult the road may be.”

That now seems to be Prime Minister Netanyahu’s goal. It is the right choice for Israel, the US and the West.

Cal Thomas is syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. Readers can write to him via email at [email protected].