The Long War Journal: The Name Game

Written by Bill Roggio on September 8, 2004 7:35 PM to The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2004/09/the_name_game_1.php

Israel has encountered few terror attacks within its border since beginning the construction of its security fence. Up until the end of August, there was one successful attack within Israel’s borders since the suicide bombing at Ashdod Port in March. Hamas’ suicide bombings of two buses in Beersheba on August 31 illustrate the limitations of relying on defensive measures to thwart attacks.

Terrorists will eventually find weaknesses in static defenses and exploit them. In the world of globalization, successful nations depend on free trade and the movement of peoples across borders to improve their economies. It is impossible to completely close every hole without destroying the very nature of free societies and their dynamic economies. One cannot expect 100% of shipping containers to be inspected or every person entering a country receive a full security check. In an age where rogue states sponsor terror organizations and participate in the proliferation of dangerous technologies, it is vital that the fight be brought to the enemy. Israel is threatening to do just that.

Syria and Lebanon both support and serve as havens for Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror organizations, and Israel claims attacks against its citizens are being planned and directed from these nations. After the Beersheba attacks, Israel demanded Syria close these offices, expel the terrorists and has threatened action if progress is not made. Syria has made overtures of peace towards Israel, but Prime Minister Sharon is insisting on results, not words.

Sharon said that if the Syrians' intentions are real "they must dismantle and expel terrorist organizations [based in Syria] and stop funding terrorist groups." Sharon added that Syria had to eliminate the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards influence on the Hizbullah. "That would show that their statement is not a public relations maneuver, or a result of American pressure. A call for negotiations cannot be done with a declaration, it must be done with actions and that's why negotiations are not currently on the cards," the prime minister added.

The threat of Israeli action against Syria did not go unnoticed by Iran. Syria and Iran share a mutual defense pact, and Iran threatened action against Israel if Syria is attacked, and praised the “freedom fighters” that butcher innocent women and children. Note how Iran claims Beersheba is in “the occupied territories of Palestine” even though Beersheba clearly exists within Israeli borders. Iran and other Islamic nations refuse to even accept the existence of the state of Israel or its claims to the lands within the established borders.

Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom also claimed that Syria is implicated in the two recent martyrdom-seeking operations by the Islamic resistance movement Hamas in Bir al-Sab [Beersheba], which occurred in the occupied territories of Palestine last Tuesday. In these operations, sixteen Israelis were killed and one hundred were injured.

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On the other hand, the Lebanese Hizbollah is a part of the national and legitimate resistance of the country because the party was established at a time when southern Lebanon was occupied by Israel. As long as the Zionist regime’s threats continue, Hizbollah, as defenders of Lebanese national sovereignty, should be regarded as a legitimate organization.

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Although Syria remained stoically silent after Israel’s October 2003 attack on sites close to Damascus, if the Zionists attack the country again, Syria will definitely not be left to fend for itself and regional countries will deliver a serious response to the Zionist regime.

The United Nations Imitates Iran

While the war of words raged between Israel, Syria and Iran, The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1559, which “calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon” as well as “the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias”. The resolution conveniently does not mention Syria, the only nation with foreign forces in Lebanon, or Hezbollah, the largest non-Lebanese militia. Other non-Lebanese militias include “Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command—as well as the Abu Nidal Organization, al-Jihad, Asbat al-Ansar, [and] the Japanese Red Army”. The resolution, like most passed by the United Nations Security Council, is toothless; there are no provisions to enforce it. The United Nations, in a perfect imitation of Iran, cannot even bring itself to refer to the militias by their true name - terrorists.

The United Nations is not the only party guilty of the sin of providing cover for terrorists. The American and global media routinely trip all over themselves by calling those that purposefully murder civilians, women and children anything but what they are, terrorists. Daniel Pipes documents the euphemisms the media gives for terrorists. His latest installment lists the names the media assigns to the terrorists responsible for the massacre of school children, families and teachers in Beslan: attackers, captors, commandos, fighters, guerrillas, gunmen, insurgents, militants, radicals, rebels, separatists and activists. Look at the photographs of the children of Beslan. Are these the actions of captors? What kind of activist blows up a bus, intentionally murders women and children, and leaves the remains of a woman hanging out of a window? What program are these activists advocating?

Iran, Syria and other nations support and glorify terrorists, the United Nations and the media provide cover to terrorists by refusing to label them for what they are and America, Israel and their allies struggle against both the brutality of terrorism and the insanity of those that refuse to recognize, or even name, the danger. Israel, understanding the horrors experienced in Beslan, offers assistance, while the European Union rebukes Russia for the handling of the situation and presses for a diplomatic solution in Chechnya.

Israel has every right to invoke its right of self defense and attack Syria and Lebanon for supporting and harboring terrorists that attack Israeli civilians. If they do, expect the United Nations, the European Union, the whole of the Islamic world and the mainstream media to castigate Israel for doing so. Why? Because terrorists aren’t really terrorists when they’re freedom fighters, and therefore Syria and Lebanon aren’t terror states.