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PlainSpeak
A Nation Besieged by Islamist
Religious Terrorism
Israel Strikes
Back
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
For the last
two weeks the international attention and media attention stands riveted
on the West Asian crisis involving Israel’s military strikes in Lebanon
and preceding that in the Gaza strip. Many nations including India have
jumped to criticize Israel’s military operations in Lebanon as an act of
aggression and condemn Israel for use of disproportionate force. Such
responses do not reflect the realities of the ground situation and are
made under domestic political considerations ( Indian Government under
Leftists and minority vote banks pressure) or religious affinity as in
the case of the Islamic world.
The ground realities are however radically different. Israel has not
launched a war of aggression against Lebanon for any territorial gains
or political aggrandizement. Israel’s military operations in Lebanon are
targeted at the Hezbollah which is an Islamist fundamentalist
organization. Over several years it has been involved in violent
terrorism against Israel. Over a period of time with external support it
has built up a formidable armed militia equipped with heavy weapons and
rocket artillery. It established itself in Southern Lebanon and carved a
state within a state from where it launched terror strikes and periodic
rocket artillery attacks deep within Israeli territory. United Nations
Resolution 1559 demanded that all militias be disbanded and Lebanon
should establish effective control over Southern Lebanon . This did not
happen as Lebanon’s Government was too weak to disarm the Hezbollah. The
present military operations by Israel emanated from the kidnapping of
two Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah reportedly for a swap with its
militants in Israeli custody
Israel stands besieged on its southern borders also by Islamic religious
terrorism in the form of Hamas which has been running an unending
terrorism campaign against Israel. They too abducted an Israeli soldier
weeks back resulting in Israeli military strikes in the Gaza strip.
Israel also faces a constant terrorism threat from another direction and
that is from the Mediterranean Sea coastline which becomes an attractive
avenue for such terrorist organizations.
Both these Islamist religious terrorist organizations involved against
Israel are reported to be engaged in a proxy war against Israel at the
behest of Syria and Iran besides receiving petro-dollars from the Gulf.
The rocket artillery of the Hezbollah is said to being provided
increasingly by Iran. Syria has a pressing objective to make Israel
vacate the Golan Heights whereas the Iranian objective seems to keep USA
preoccupied with this region and deflect its focus on its nuclear
programme and also as a strategic pressure point to obviate preventive
military strikes by USA and Israel on its nuclear facilities.
In such a security environment Israel has no option but to strike at the
roots of terror which have inflicted hundreds of casualties on its
civilian population over the years. It was an unavoidable military
operation when in the face of such terror which has international
ramifications the major powers seem unable to restrain the state
sponsors of Islamic religious terrorism in the region. In the case of
Lebanon, when a state is rendered powerless by a terrorist organization
and impinges on its sovereignty and that organization indulges in an
undeclared war against a neigbouring state the Israel cannot await the
United Nations to enforce its Resolutions.
It needs to be recalled that Israel withdrew its forces from Southern
Lebanon in 2000 on the United Nations and the assurances of the
international community that the Hezbollah would be neutralized in
Southern Lebanon so that its capacity to wage war against Israel ceases.
Israel similarly withdrew its military presence from the Gaza Strip as a
gesture to bring peace with the Palestinians. Six years hence nothing of
that sort happened and nobody should rightfully fault Israel for
military operations in the exercise of the right of self defence which
is recognized in the UN Charter.
July 30, 2006
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PlainSpeak
The Week of July 30, 2006
Upto the President: Parties will closely watch his
next move by Rajinder Puri
Israel Strikes Back by Dr. Subhash Kapila
US Foreign Policy: Code Name "Operation Frankenstein"
by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Nuclear "Hostage" Crisis by Col. Rahul K.
Bhonsle
Can International Friendship be Developed by
Friendship? by TA Ramesh
India: A Failed State? by V. Sundaram
Courting Injustice: The Terrible Truth about our
Courts by Rajesh Talwar
Islamic Indian Nationalism by V. Sundaram
Ideological Insurgency by Dr. Prasenjit
Maiti
Jobless Development by Nitin Jugran Bahuguna
On the Footsteps of Kautilya! by VK Joshi
Agriculture Policy for Energy Security by Dr.
Anil K. Rajvanshi
Biodiversity and the Tribal Lore by Kusum
Choppra
Who Needs All-woman Spaces? by Barbara Lewis
Kaazi Nazrul Islam: The National Poet of
Bangladesh compiled by Aparna Chatterjee
Increase your Computer's Heartbeat: Add RAM to it
by Ruchi Gupta
Bakery and Confectionery as a Career by
Pallavi Bhattacharya
The Journey: From Creation to Creator by Dr.
Vidur Jyoti
The Spinning of a Legend: Alexander the Great
... by Kamesh Aiyer
Self Realization: How do you Attain it? by
Pradeep Joshi
Rainy Days and Mom Days by Monisha Sen
Me, My Wife and Synthesizer by Prakash Pathre
Radio Active Palamau by Ajitha G S
Girls as Sacrificial Lambs by Zofeen T Ebrahim
The Witty Side by Melvin Durai
Keeping Kids in School by Gagandeep Kaur
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