As Iran’s global jihad rages in the Middle East, as well as on America’s campuses and in its streets, the White House seems to stare blankly in its headlights. Meanwhile, Israel, in just a few months, has eliminated the entire leadership hierarchy of Iran’s proxies in Gaza and Lebanon, pressing its advantage by invading Hezbollah’s home turf. As former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted, “Israel has ascended to the leadership position in the world’s global fight against terrorism” when it should be the United States leading the fight.
While the U.S. dallies, speaking sanctimoniously about ceasefires, diplomacy and two states, Israel meets the enemy head-on, defeating cowardly violence with superior force. The American administration apparently believes Islamic terrorism can be placated by promises of “regional stability.” Unfortunately, Iran doesn’t seek stability; it seeks conquest by any means necessary.
Since Israel tops Iran’s list of targets for immediate conquest, the Jewish state cannot afford the luxury of America’s hopeful, head-in-the-sand approach. It is fighting for its life. Thankfully, Israel is well into defeating two of the most powerful terrorist organizations on Earth: Hamas and Hezbollah.
But not only do Western leaders not express gratitude, they continue to hound Israel bitterly to stop attacking and killing the West’s enemies. These timid disciples of diplomacy seem to believe they are closer to peace when terrorists are thriving than when they are destroyed. Yet the Middle East and the world enjoy more security today than they did two months ago.
Tragically, the White House fails to see the value of military prowess in the face of those who aspire to conquer Western civilization. Particularly in the Middle East, it is precisely the nations who fight back fiercely and shrewdly that succeed in causing terrorists to back down.
Western leaders fail to understand the true threat of Islamist terrorism. The West continues to believe falsely that Islamist fanatics think like us and are motivated by the good life: Peace, security, and upward mobility.
Instead, as the jihadis themselves tell us, they are driven by divinely righteous conquest of Islam over infidels and, ultimately, the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate. Israel is just the first target—the West, including America, will be next. Islamists will pay virtually any price to move closer to their goal—including their own people’s lives. Osama bin Laden famously glorified this aspiration to martyrdom, saying, “We love death the way you love life.” No wonder U.S. negotiators could not persuade Hamas or Hezbollah to accept ceasefires. The diplomats didn’t understand that only utter defeat would deter Islamist zealots.
Israel’s defeat of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah improves security in the West. Eliminating terrorist leaders, as Israel did by killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, weakens our mortal enemies as negotiations never will. Even U.S. President Joe Biden, who continuously forbids Israeli aggression, admitted that the assassination was “a measure of justice.” If Israel had obeyed Biden’s orders, the world would be a more dangerous place.
In addition, Israel’s attacks have demoralized Iran and its proxies. Even Hezbollah admitted that Israel’s “pager attack” damaged them and proved the Jewish state’s intelligence and technological superiority. Also, after Israel assassinated Nasrallah, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was moved to a location with heightened security.
Finally, by inflicting heavy damage on Iran’s proxies, Israel is peeling back what The Wall Street Journal calls the “layers of defense” protecting Iran’s nuclear weapons. Despite Iran’s second massive missile attack on Israel just last week, Biden meekly says he will not support an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
Instead of expressing gratitude for Israel’s efforts to fight Islamist terrorism, the West scolds the Jewish state. When Israel killed Nasrallah, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned the assassination, saying, “This action leads to significant instability in the region and does not contribute to Israel’s security.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also slammed Israel, saying, “Your activity in the north is pushing the region to war.” Macron disregards Hezbollah’s 11 months of attacks with more than 8,000 missiles, which preceded Israel’s response.
While Biden did praise Israel’s killing of Nasrallah, he immediately negated it, saying: “Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means.” The presdient’s strategy would be more credible if he could point to just a few diplomatic successes in the Middle East during his administration’s last four years.
Western leaders believe we are closer to peace when we appease terrorist organizations. Thus, team Biden-Harris relies strictly on diplomacy to deal with Iran and its proxies—despite zero progress. They tried and failed to resurrect the nuclear deal. Now, Iran is closer than ever to the nuclear threshold. Worse still, the United States gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which the mullahs used to arm their proxies. The culmination of this “diplomacy only” approach? Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre and Hezbollah’s launching a war in Israel’s north.
Clarity, determination and military pressure will create a Middle East peace. The devastation that Israel inflicted on Gaza, for example, has led to a sharp decline in Gazans’ support for Hamas. Whereas polls showed most Gazans supported Hamas’s massacre last December, their support for Hamas’s postwar governance sits now at six percent.
German and Japanese public support of their wars also fell dramatically towards World War II’s end. Strategic Bombing Surveys found that the percentage of Japanese unwilling to continue the war climbed to more than 60% at the time of surrender, an interval that coincided with the period of heaviest American bombing. Long before Germany’s unconditional surrender in May 1945, the German people had ceased to support their war.
Middle East history proves that strong nations succeed in eliminating enemy threats. As a result of Israel’s use of devastating force against its terrorist foes, Hamas and Hezbollah—formerly at the peak of their power—are now crippled as never before. In contrast, the West’s obsession with diplomacy has only strengthened Islamic terrorism.
If Western nations refuse to support Israel’s success in defeating Islamic terrorists, at least they could step aside and let Israel finish the job.
Previously published by FLAME.