What the Fighting in the Middle East Means to America

By Ilana Freedman

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

The current situation in the Middle East is only the latest chapter in the global war against terrorism. It is getting our full attention, and well it should. The connections between the terrorist organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, and their sponsor states, Iran and Syria, have never been clearer.

What does this mean for America? A great deal. The same terrorist organizations that kidnapped three IDF soldiers from Israeli soil, and rained rockets on civilian targets in a pincer attack across Israel’s northern and southern borders, have been building their ranks in the United States, as well. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have set up cells throughout the country, raising money, training recruits, carrying out surveillance, and laying the groundwork for the operations they plan to carry out once they have been activated.

Israel’s aggressive response to the terrorist attacks on its sovereignty are appropriate and necessary. Hezbollah must be disarmed and de-clawed at its source, in Lebanon. America’s solid support of Israel’s military response is an outstanding reversal of traditional American positions. It, too, is appropriate.

If we are to wage a successful war against the terrorists who threaten us, we need to understand that Israel is our first line of defense, that they are fighting a key battle in our own war against terrorism.

The loss of civilian lives in Lebanon and Gaza is deeply disturbing. But when an enemy that wantonly murders innocents as part of its religious vision, embeds itself within densely populated areas, as both Hamas and Hezbollah have done, it is virtually impossible to confront the terrorists without inflicting casualties among their civilian hostages.

However, it is of some comfort to know that Israeli technology enables the IDF to target their fire with pinpoint accuracy. This allows them to avoid, as much as possible, what the euphemistic press cynically calls "collateral damage".

No loss of innocent life should be trivialized. But as long as there are organizations whose reason for existence depends on the death of others, we should be grateful that we have allies like Israel, who have the fortitude and the capability to take on the enemy forcefully, and, we may hope, finally. A successful conclusion to their current operations in Lebanon and Gaza will make us all safer in the United States.

Commentary is written by Ilana Freedman, CEO of Gerard Group and Senior Intelligence Analyst. Comments and questions should be addressed to ilana@gerardgroup.com

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