Hezbollah, the organization that America failed to decisively deal with back in 1983 after it blew up the marines in Lebanon is now flexing its political muscle in moving towards a virtual partition of Lebanon into Ottoman style "millets" or self-governing states within a state. Hezbolleh is positioning itself to take control over the territories it controls now South Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa Valley beside the juncture of Syria and Israel's Northern border. It is in these territories that Hezbollah is now training the Syrian and al-Qaida insurgents into Iraq.
With the attention of most Americans focused on the insurgency in Iraq and the rhetorical warfare being waged in the halls of the U.S. Congress, Hezbollah's bombardment and invasion of northern Israel last week went almost unnoticed. For six hours, mortar shells and Katyusha rockets rained down all along the Israel-Lebanon border and down into the Galilee, driving thousands of Israelis back down into their bomb shelters. Five Hezbollah raiders were killed and more than a dozen IDF soldiers were injured, one critically. To the extent that any Americans even heard about it, it was probably dismissed as just another flare-up of the Israeli/Arab conflict. Most Americans think Hezbollah is a domestic Lebanese problem or a problem for the Israelis. This is a critical and dangerous mistake. Everything that Hezbollah does is intended to eventually harm the United States. What emboldened them to break the relative tranquility Israel's northern boarder has been experiencing?
The stage was set with the recent unilateral Gaza withdrawal and the American pressured decision to cede security control over the Rafah border with Egypt, which the Arabs look at as contemptible weakness. Showing weakness to radical jihadists like Hezbolleh, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and al Qaeda in Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza and Egypt is like running from a dog. It senses fear and attacks. We have a saying in Arabic, "First the Saturday people than the Sunday people." I'll be more specific, "First we kill some Jews and subjugate the rest then we kill some Christians and subjugate the rest of them." That's first a threat and then a promise. The West needs to wake up to what is coming our way.
Let's look at the money and support behind this mission statement.
Hezbollah is a real danger to the region as it is backed fully by Iran who is bent on "wiping the Jewish State of Israel off the map", as Iranian terror President Ahmadinejad has said not once but twice in speeches two weeks ago. Iran now has Russian built spy satellites, long distance Shehab III missiles that can reach Israel and Europe with real chemical, biological or nuclear WMD's. Its population is teeming with tens of thousands of potential suicide bombing martyrs to fill Hezbollah ranks hoping to kill and maim.
Syria, a conduit of supplies and personnel, harbors a desire to wreak revenge on Israel for the shame of having lost territory in several wars. Plus it wants to stick its thumb in the eye of the U.S. conducting counter-terrorism actions against insurgents using Syria as a base of operations across the border in Iraq. Bashar Assad is also under tremendous international pressure because of Syrian involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Therefore Syria is supporting Hezbollah in its attacks on Israel. Assad believes that this will rally the support of the Arab world and deflect attention from the Hariri investigation.
And now a look at the money. Hezbollah receives over $650 million annually in cash from Iran. It earns another $650 million from phone card monopolies and controls the internet traffic in Lebanon. Hezbolleh is rumored to earn an estimated $300 million annually in brokering drug deals in the region, All told, according to reliable sources, it has an annual war-chest of over $1.6 Billion. More than enough to fund community services and build up a hidden store of tens of thousands of Katyusha rockets and arms in mountain bunkers in the Bekaa Valley. The PLO armed up with USSR assistance in the 70's. The Israelis blew up tons of it. With unbridled access and money Hezbollah can do it again.
Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbolleh, Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda see only weakness. A weakness arising from Israel's vulnerability after the Gaza withdrawal and last week's border crossing fiasco pushed by Condi rice and the Arabists in the U.S. State Department. They also are pumped up because they see anti-war activists such as Cindy Sheehan and members of Congress in an uproar demanding an early exit in Iraq.
Sensing Israel and the U.S. on the run they naturally pounce because they see it as vulnerable if the U.S. leaves the region, especially with the turmoil of a bitter election and possible change in party control in Israel's Knesset next March. Now, will the world, especially the U.S. do what is right by its best ally and military defense force in the Middle East? The terrorists are watching the direction of our feet and taking notes.
Appeasement Never Works
By Brigitte Gabriel, founder and President of American Congress for Truth
The west is not failing the expectations of terrorists worldwide. The back bending, constant apologizing, political correctness, appeasement, sensitivity training and our flat out ignorance in estimating and evaluating the enemy we are fighting is heralding our defeat. While the terrorists have been watching our reactions for 30 years, our politicians have forgotten the pre-world war II lesson that, "Appeasement never works."
While our politicians are destroying military moral and constricting our intelligence agencies, our media is demonizing and destroying America's image throughout the world. Al Jazeera loves what is being handed them on a silver platter.
This daily show of western weakness and lack of unity is coming back to bite America and its only democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel, in the derriere. Our enemies are strengthening, networking and uniting for our destruction. They were successful at demonizing Israel and have turned their propaganda machine on America.
Hezbollah, the organization that America failed to decisively deal with back in 1983 after it blew up the marines in Lebanon is now flexing its political muscle in moving towards a virtual partition of Lebanon into Ottoman style "millets" or self-governing states within a state. Hezbolleh is positioning itself to take control over the territories it controls now South Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa Valley beside the juncture of Syria and Israel's Northern border. It is in these territories that Hezbollah is now training the Syrian and al-Qaida insurgents into Iraq.
With the attention of most Americans focused on the insurgency in Iraq and the rhetorical warfare being waged in the halls of the U.S. Congress, Hezbollah's bombardment and invasion of northern Israel last week went almost unnoticed. For six hours, mortar shells and Katyusha rockets rained down all along the Israel-Lebanon border and down into the Galilee, driving thousands of Israelis back down into their bomb shelters. Five Hezbollah raiders were killed and more than a dozen IDF soldiers were injured, one critically. To the extent that any Americans even heard about it, it was probably dismissed as just another flare-up of the Israeli/Arab conflict. Most Americans think Hezbollah is a domestic Lebanese problem or a problem for the Israelis. This is a critical and dangerous mistake. Everything that Hezbollah does is intended to eventually harm the United States. What emboldened them to break the relative tranquility Israel's northern boarder has been experiencing?
The stage was set with the recent unilateral Gaza withdrawal and the American pressured decision to cede security control over the Rafah border with Egypt, which the Arabs look at as contemptible weakness. Showing weakness to radical jihadists like Hezbolleh, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and al Qaeda in Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza and Egypt is like running from a dog. It senses fear and attacks. We have a saying in Arabic, "First the Saturday people than the Sunday people." I'll be more specific, "First we kill some Jews and subjugate the rest then we kill some Christians and subjugate the rest of them." That's first a threat and then a promise. The West needs to wake up to what is coming our way.
Let's look at the money and support behind this mission statement.
Hezbollah is a real danger to the region as it is backed fully by Iran who is bent on "wiping the Jewish State of Israel off the map", as Iranian terror President Ahmadinejad has said not once but twice in speeches two weeks ago. Iran now has Russian built spy satellites, long distance Shehab III missiles that can reach Israel and Europe with real chemical, biological or nuclear WMD's. Its population is teeming with tens of thousands of potential suicide bombing martyrs to fill Hezbollah ranks hoping to kill and maim.
Syria, a conduit of supplies and personnel, harbors a desire to wreak revenge on Israel for the shame of having lost territory in several wars. Plus it wants to stick its thumb in the eye of the U.S. conducting counter-terrorism actions against insurgents using Syria as a base of operations across the border in Iraq. Bashar Assad is also under tremendous international pressure because of Syrian involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Therefore Syria is supporting Hezbollah in its attacks on Israel. Assad believes that this will rally the support of the Arab world and deflect attention from the Hariri investigation.
And now a look at the money. Hezbollah receives over $650 million annually in cash from Iran. It earns another $650 million from phone card monopolies and controls the internet traffic in Lebanon. Hezbolleh is rumored to earn an estimated $300 million annually in brokering drug deals in the region, All told, according to reliable sources, it has an annual war-chest of over $1.6 Billion. More than enough to fund community services and build up a hidden store of tens of thousands of Katyusha rockets and arms in mountain bunkers in the Bekaa Valley. The PLO armed up with USSR assistance in the 70's. The Israelis blew up tons of it. With unbridled access and money Hezbollah can do it again.
Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbolleh, Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda see only weakness. A weakness arising from Israel's vulnerability after the Gaza withdrawal and last week's border crossing fiasco pushed by Condi rice and the Arabists in the U.S. State Department. They also are pumped up because they see anti-war activists such as Cindy Sheehan and members of Congress in an uproar demanding an early exit in Iraq.
Sensing Israel and the U.S. on the run they naturally pounce because they see it as vulnerable if the U.S. leaves the region, especially with the turmoil of a bitter election and possible change in party control in Israel's Knesset next March. Now, will the world, especially the U.S. do what is right by its best ally and military defense force in the Middle East? The terrorists are watching the direction of our feet and taking notes.
Posted by Jerry Gordon at November 29, 2005 08:09 AM