Holy war in the Holy Land

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: December 30, 2008

Let’s spend some time daydreaming together for a moment.

Remember back to September 11, 2001. Remember where you were when you heard that something was going on at the World Trade Center. Remember the horror that crept over your entire being as you heard about the second plane hitting the WTC. Maybe, like me, you saw it happen live and in color.

Remember seeing the black smoke rising from the ruins of the Pentagon.

Remember the warnings that spread like a plague—evacuations of the U.S. Capitol, the Sears Tower, the Empire State Building, the closures of Los Angeles International Airport and eventually all the other airports in the United States. Remember that rumor that a plane was headed for Washington.

Remember that field in Pennsylvania.

Remember how you felt as the towers came crashing down—first Tower 2, then Tower 1, after several minutes and a sickening feeling of inevitability.

Remember the triage workers so eager to help the wounded that they spilled out on to the streets of New York, awaiting the wave of WTC patients who would never come.

Remember the days upon days of workers searching through the rubble for any sign of life as television anchors introduced you to the name, “Osama bin Laden.“

Now, remember how you felt in the days following those attacks. Think back to the resolve that permeated your country that we would never, ever let anything like this happen to us again.

Now imagine, if you can, someone coming forth and arguing that the United States was being heavy-handed in its retaliation against the militants and facilities in Afghanistan that had conjured the Sept. 11 attacks in their imaginations and willed them into terrible reality.

Imagine how absolutely absurd it would have been for someone to argue whether the U.S. had any right to retaliate at all.

Imagine the rightful ridicule and scorn that would have befallen anyone who had advanced such a quandary.

Now let’s talk about what’s going on in the Middle East.

Over the past few weeks, Israel has faced regular shelling of its southern border from militants in Gaza.

They knew who was doing it, and they knew where it was coming from.

So, facing continuing harm and a continuing threat and armed with actionable intelligence about the source and nature of that threat, Israel is doing what every other country would do in a similar situation: It’s rooting out the threat.

It’s incomprehensible to me that we are actually hearing people debate whether Israel has a “right” to conduct these operations.

The only thing more incomprehensible is that folks in New Orleans—NEW ORLEANS—held a rally yesterday to protest “Israeli aggression.“ Israeli aggression—you mean, the retaliatory measures meant to safeguard their people from further attacks from Gaza?

What planet are these people living on?

Almost as incomprehensible is the way talking heads are wringing their hands over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Is there a humanitarian crisis? Of course there is.

But guess who’s responsible for it? Here’s a hint: It’s the group that centers its terrorist operations near schools, hospitals and residential areas, using civilians as human shields. It’s the group that exploits relaxations of the border blockades to smuggle in rockets and militants with which to attack Israel. It’s the group that continues to vow Israel’s destruction.

Meanwhile, you have Cynthia McKinney on a boat, headed to Gaza to support the Palestinians. Surprise, surprise.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll get through and decide to make their cause her full-time, on-scene concern.

Nah ... it’s probably too late for that Christmas miracle.

I heard someone on CNN a little while ago opine about how Israel’s response is “above and beyond” the shelling that the Palestinians had been doing.

Ah, the old lie of “proportional response.“

I suppose that person thought we went over the top with the Taliban in 2001, too.

I have never understood why there is so much difficulty in the Middle East. Sure, I understand that Jerusalem is a holy city for three different religions. And that’s the only reason this is even an issue: No one would even blink an eye at whether any other country that had been established and is recognized by the world community had “the right to defend itself.“ That it’s even an issue with Israel shows the double standard that applies to Israelis and their country.

But I guess, from my perspective, when your choice is either co-existing or spending a lifetime shielding your children from car bombs and suicide bombers and air strikes and gunman, there’s really no choice at all.

If the Palestinians are really ready to stop living with “Israeli aggression,“ there’s one simple, simply executed answer: QUIT ENGAGING ISRAEL IN A HOLY WAR. Stop shelling Israel. Stop voting for Hamas-supported candidates who promise to keep up the fight against Israel. Stop smuggling in weapons from Iran. Stop sending suicide bombers and gunmen into Israeli cafes, buses, clubs, hotels and train stations. Stop trying to provoke Israel into a nuclear response that would trigger a wider conflict and likely cause World War III.

If the Palestinians want a truce, they need only keep their hands to themselves.