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April 30, 2006

Middle East Update

The face of the war on terror must include Israel, which some, including the MSM, have not done in the past.  Israel is in fact a crucial part of this global war on terror.  Caroline B. Glick has another excellent article in Jewish World Review.  Here's a taste:

The face of the enemy has changed. If in the past it was possible to say that the war being waged against Israel was unique and distinct from the global jihad, after the events of the past week, it is no longer possible to credibly make such a claim. Four events that occurred this week -- the attacks in the Sinai; the release of Osama bin Laden's audiotape; the release of Abu Musab Zarqawi's videotape; and the arrest of Hamas terrorists by Jordan -- all proved clearly that today it is impossible to separate the wars. The new situation has critical consequences for the character of the campaign that the IDF must fight to defend Israel and for the nature of the policies that the incoming government of Israel must adopt and advance.

Until recently, Israel, like Jordan and Egypt, did not particularly interest al Qaida. When bin Laden's deputy Ayman al Zawahiri and his military commander Saif al-Adel merged their terror organization, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, to al Qaida, they adopted bin Laden's approach which dictated suspending their previous war to overthrow the Egyptian regime and concentrating on attacking America and its allies. In the same manner, when the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi joined al Qaida, he was compelled to put his wish to overthrow the Hashemite regime to the side. Israel was not on the agenda.

But today everything has changed. Israel, like Egypt and Jordan, is under the gun.source

Ms. Glick goes on to explain that Osama bin Laden, in his audio tape this past week, put  "Hamas under his protection", inferring that "(1) Palestinians are no longer independent actors; (2) the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority as a part of the liberated Islamic lands where al Qaida can feel at home; (3) he hitched a ride on the Palestinian issue which is more popular in the Islamic world than the Iraq war, where al Qaida is apparently on the road to defeat."

In his video, "Zarqawi emphasized that the destruction of Israel through the conquest of Jerusalem is one of his major goals. Both he and bin Laden made clear that from their perspectives, the war against the US and the war against Israel are the same war."

Continue to read here

Posted by Debbie at April 30, 2006 9:12 PM