Israel, America and the Forever War

If you’ve come here for a lucid explanation of why Israel must be supported and defended at all costs, you would do well to stop reading now. If you’re seeking a lengthy, breathless diatribe on how “we are all Palestinians now” then stop reading immediately. Should you, however, be in the mood for some dark, sisyphian introspection on Israel’s expanded ground war into the Gaza strip, read on.

I’ve watched the coverage of the latest incarnation of the Middle East troubles over the last eight days, both here at TMV and across the old and new media, with a sense of sadness which has slowly but surely morphed back into the same old feelings of anger. This rage dates back quite a while. I was angry in 1993 when some maniacs parked a van full of explosives in a parking garage at the World Trade Center. Why? It was because of Israel, though nobody wanted to admit it. I was incensed in 2000 when the U.S.S. Cole was bombed. It was because of Israel. And on that fateful day nearly two years later, I was enraged when the towers fell in New York, the Pentagon went up in flames and a lonely plane fell in a remote field of Pennsylvania. Again… it was because of Israel. And yet, none of it was entirely owned by Israel, but by us.

In our consideration of this never-ending tale, can we at least be intellectually honest enough to admit one thing? It concerns the ineffable “they” whom we always discuss when matters of terrorism arise. “They” do not “hate us for our freedom.” They don’t hate us for our women in hot pants and halter tops, nor for our Nintendo Gameboys or drive through fast food joints. They hate us because they hate Israel, and we remain Israel’s eternal big brother on the playground. We are Israel’s Department of Defense and their one stop shopping destination for the machinery of war. We are what stops “them” from unleashing their fury on the blunder of 1947. And since we are seen as the barrier to their true goals, they pack up their guns and their bombs and their box cutters and keep trying to find a way to bring the war to us.

Many of my more conservative friends will read those words and bellow, “Do you or do you NOT recognize Israel’s right to exist as a country?” Do I? Well, let’s see. They have borders, (though they seem to shift from time to time) citizens, the best military American money can buy and, by golly, they’ve even got a flag. Looks like a country to me! Of course, I also believe that Prussia had a right to exist. In fact, they once stood on the verge of controlling a fair part of the known world. I also believe Yugoslavia had a right to exist. Say… anyone seen Prussia lately? Yugoslavia? I recognize Israel’s right to exist today.

I bear no particular malice toward Israel, born to unfortunate circumstance through a ring of fire in 1947 like some anthropomorphic toy which realized too late that it was a piñata. But what I would like a few more of my countrymen to realize- preferably sooner than later- is the following: Israel is going to be at war, or on the verge of war, for as long as it exists. The current edition will end only one way, with the details coming down solely to a matter of degrees. Israel, in an all out shooting war, will defeat the Palestinians. They always will, and the match will be a blowout. A modern army, replete with American-made fighter planes, air to surface missiles, smart-bombs and tanks will always defeat a ragtag band firing the equivalent of short range pipe bombs fueled with fertilizer. What Israel will not do, however, is implement a “final solution,” entailing the elimination of virtually every man, woman and child among the Palestinians. Any solution short of that, of course, will guarantee a continuation of the war. And the more the Palestinians can show footage of Israel’s superior military blowing up homes and body parts in Gaza City, the more support they will gin up around the world from people already disinclined to look kindly on the Israelis.

There is a temptation, be it ever so unbecoming, to follow Ed Morrissey’s advice at the beginning of this conflict, when he said, “The world should step aside and quit interfering in the war Hamas so desperately wants and will desperately lose if left to their own devices.” There are, however, several problems with this philosophy above and beyond that fact that Israel will not fight the total solution war required to permanently eliminate the Palestinian threat by way of what would effectively amount to extermination.

With respect to Ed and most conservative pundits, they are not looking for the world to simply step aside and let the two parties fight their war. If I may be so bold as to append the sentiment, what they mean to say is that we should step aside and let them fight their war as long as Israel wins. Even if the Palestinians were to disappear from the face of the Earth forever, what of the following war? Who will face down the Israelis next? Will it be Syria and their more radical lapdogs in Lebanon? How about the Saudis? (Always friends of Israel, I’m sure.) Weren’t the Iranians talking about driving Israel into the sea? And if I’m not mistaken, some of these countries have been getting awfully friendly with a cash-strapped Russia of late. Will Israel have to fight wars against modern armies with MIG fighters, advanced equipment and 21st century technology?

How long does this battle rage before it officially and openly becomes America’s war, rather than our unofficial war fought by our battered but completely sponsored surrogate? Is that a war we are equipped, ready and willing to fight on the behalf of Israel? If the answer to the above questions is “yes” then perhaps we need to drop the pretense and declare, once and for all, that we are engaged in a holy war against the forces of the Muslim world and let everyone pick their sides. The alternative is future generations draining blood and treasure into a black hole of despair which shows no signs of peace, rainbows, unicorns, hope or change any time in the foreseeable future.

So, in closing, what exactly am I calling for? If we must, let us allow this sad but seemingly unavoidable tragedy to play out in the Middle East. But let us also cut the dogs of war free to fight under their own flags and on their own terms. And if the side we backed turns out to go the way of Prussia, admit that this sometimes happens in the evolution of global construction. If we are not willing to take that step, then ask the voters of this country to declare, once and for all, that we are at war with the nations who oppose the existence of Israel and fight them openly. If the majority of America is willing to bear that burden, then let’s take it on full bore and end this. Dragging out this poison for the next countless generations is madness. And let us also recognize that we’re never going to “fix” the Middle East. There is no solution to that puzzle until one side or the other is retired from the field of battle permanently.