Why Israel Must Win, By Caroline Glick
Excerpts;
Under attack domestically, both Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have less time and ability to rally their nations to fight against the forces of global jihad. Moreover, as a result of its own culture wars, Israel today finds itself led by the weakest government it has ever had. The weakness of all three governments presented Iran with an unmistakable opportunity to strike.
Today, the ability of both Blair and Bush to convince their nations to support their war efforts against forces committed to the destruction of their nations’ ways of life is dependent on Olmert’s ability to lead Israel to victory in the war against Hizbullah.
With a quarter of our population under attack, our cities and forest in flames and our economy surging toward recession and debt, most Israelis agree that the war we face is a war for our national survival. In that sense, it is not all that different from previous wars.
Yet there is a qualitative difference between the current war and wars of previous generations. In the past, our enemies were states. They wished to conquer Israel and take our land for themselves. Today our enemies do not wish to conquer Israel. They wish to destroy Israel as a stepping stone on their path toward global domination. An Israeli victory or defeat in the current war will influence not only Israel’s future. It will influence the future of the free world as a whole. If Israel is defeated, if we do not fight to victory over Hizbullah, the march of jihad will move forward with unprecedented force.
Not surprisingly, Olmert hesitates as he faces this challenge. His nation tells him to choose victory. His instincts tell him to seek the path of least resistance.
If Olmert allows the IDF to fight, if he orders the implementation of the security cabinet’s decision to widen the ground offensive to the Litani River and so enable us to vanquish Hizbullah, we will be able to change the face of the region and of the world as a whole.
A clear Israeli victory against Hizbullah that destroys Hizbullah as a fighting force would enable leaders like Bush and Blair to defend their decision to wage war against jihad. Quite simply, an Israeli victory will help them inspire their nations to believe that they can win this war as well.
An Israeli victory will put to rest the fiction which claims that Israel is a strategic liability for to West. The forces who call for Israel’s abandonment and a US “engagement” of the Syrians and Iranians will be exposed as fools.
But the option of defeat has an allure of its own. Defeat, or as Olmert might put it, “bowing to international pressure” has the advantage of being the path of least resistance. Unfortunately for Israel, if Olmert surrenders to his nature and opts for capitulation, the result will be catastrophic.
If, as Rice, Shimon Peres and Olmert himself recommend, Israel holds its fire and waits for a multinational force to deploy along the border, Israel will lose its right to self-defense. The laws of political gravity dictate that a relinquishment of the right to self defense is tantamount to a surrender of sovereignty.
If Olmert decides that he would rather have foreigners patrol our borders than the IDF, his message to the world will be clear: As far as he is concerned, Israel does not value its liberty because it is unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices to defend it.
If Olmert decides to surrender to outside pressures, he will be serving the interests of the forces in Washington who claim that Israel is not worthy of America’s support. An Israel that is unwilling to contend with Hizbullah is an Israel that cannot be trusted as an ally.
At the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Olmert demanded that his ministers behave like grown-ups because “the whole nation is watching us now.” This is true. We are watching. And at this time, it is up to our nation to force our leaders to lead us to victory.