Jan 9, 2012
Circle of “Friends”
When I attended a pro Palestinian conference in Fremont, California, recently, Porter Speakman Jr. (director of With God on Our Side) and Tom Getman took exception to my statement that one of the major problems in the Arab-Israeli conflict is Arab rejectionism: Israel’s right to exist is not recognized.
Speakman and Getman countered with the peace treaties signed with Jordan and Egypt (ah, we long for those halcyon days); they wouldn’t concede that the pan Arab nation rejects Israel outright. Of course, those treaties with Egypt and Jordan are in a precarious position.
Overall, Arab rejectionism is pervasive and has been documented for decades. It is not only the official policy of Arab countries; it is a hallmark of individual lives, bent from years of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish education.
But to get perhaps a more sinister view of this threat to Israel, let’s look at the present situation in the region, still fluid given the “Arab Spring.”
Since Israel pulled out of its buffer zone in Lebanon in 1999, Hezbollah has been stockpiling weapons and upgrading training. It was recently estimated that in just a few more years, the terror group will have 15,000 rockets. The stockpiles of same in Gaza (and the Sinai, where Al Qaida is now present) represent a lethal threat to Israel from the north and the south.
Let us now turn to the east.
Obama’s tragic and reckless decision to pull all American troops out of Iraq ensures that that dreadful country will become a major terror base in the near future. The realities on the ground also show the linkage between Iraq and her neighbors, all of whom loathe the Jewish state.
The threat also extends far beyond the region, since the principle backer, Iran, exports terror all over the world.
Witness the case of one Ali Musa Daqduq, a Lebanese Shi’ite, a key member of Hezbollah since 1983 (the date should mean something to you, since Hezbollah carried out the attack on Marine barracks in Beirut that year, killing 241 Americans. Ronald Reagan pulled troops out after that).
In 2007, Daqduq was captured, by coalition forces, after taking part in an operation in Iraq that killed five American soldiers. The attack took place at the Karbala Joint Provincial Coordinating Center. Daqduq was captured two months later and had been held ever since by the Americans. With the pullout, Daqduq was turned over to the Iraqis and the Obama administration “sought assurances” that he would be tried. How many of you think that will happen?
Daqduq is probably already on his way back to the front lines, since he has been trained by the Iranian Quds Force.
Notice the linkage here.
This senior Hezbollah operative, Lebanese and an arch terrorist for at least 30 years, has been trained by the Iranians and shuttled to and from battlefronts by the Syrians and Lebanese.
A major combat operative for years in Iraq, he represents a wide-ranging network that will, in the near future, pose a grave threat not only to Israeli but also to American and other Western interests.
God help us.