Commenting on Israel’s raid on a Syrian terrorist base, the first such attack in 30 years, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has asserted Israel’s right to self-defense.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Buoyed by U.S. backing for Israel’s right to defend itself, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday the Jewish state was ready to hit its enemies anywhere following an air raid deep inside Syria.Speaking at a memorial service marking the anniversary of the 1973 Middle East war, Sharon took a tough line but made no specific threats after Sunday’s strike on what Israel said was a training camp for Palestinian militants.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, breaking his silence on the attack near Damascus, accused Israel of trying to drag Syria and the rest of the Middle East into a wider conflict. Syria said Israeli warplanes hit a civilian site.
It was Israel’s deepest air raid in Syria in three decades. It followed a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 19 people in a restaurant in the Israeli port city of Haifa a day earlier.
President Bush insisted Monday that Israel should not feel constrained in defending itself but said he told Sharon: “It’s very important that any action Israel take(s) should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions.”
Sharon’s first public comments since Sunday’s strike also followed a flare-up of violence on Israel’s border with Lebanon, where Syria is the main powerbroker.
“Israel will not be deterred from defending its citizens and will hit its enemies any place and in any way,” Sharon said in a speech broadcast live from a military cemetery in Jerusalem.
“At the same time, we will not miss any opening and opportunity to reach an agreement with our neighbors and peace.”
Israel accuses Syria of giving safe haven to Palestinian militants spearheading a 3-year-old uprising for independence. [Emphasis added]
Buoyed by U.S. backing for Israel’s right to defend itself… The key point here is that the United States of America, at least half-heartedly, is supporting Israel’s right to defend itself by attacking the source of Islamic terrorism: the governments of Syria, Iran, Saudia Arabia, and others.
All I have to say is, ABOUT DAMN TIME. Israel is a clear ally in our war on terrorism, and would be an INCALCULABLE asset to our defeating the source of Islamic terrorism: the governments that support them. If we fully supported Israel’s right to self-defense, without throwing in the line about not wanting to escalate tensions and such, we could be much closer to defeating Islamic terrorism in the Middle East.
However, President Bush is squirming and compromising like the little worm that he is, by saying on the one hand that he supports Israel’s right to self-defense; but on the other hand saying that he strongly wants Israel to find a “peaceful” solution. Let me ask you, how do you find a peaceful solution with an enemy whose sworn goal is your own destruction? Could we find a “peaceful” solution with Al-Qaeda, who want the complete destruction of America? How exactly is Israel supposed to find a “peaceful” solution with savages who want the complete destruction of the state of Israel?
According to President Bush, Israel should give the Palestinians land and other such concessions in the attempt to appease the demands of the Palestinians. But if successful, what will be the result of this? Will the Palestinians’ goal of the destruction of Israel magically dissapear? Or, will it give them more incentive to continue their terrorist attacks and get more of what they want? I’m inclined to conclude the latter.
I strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself against Islamic terrorism, and I fully support their right to completely obliterate the governments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, and any other government which is supporting terrorists and controlled by Islamic fundamentalism. Go Israel!
