Friday, December 27, 2013

27-Dec-13: Overcoming the terrorists is not a local battle; failing to win has widespread consequences

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Yisrael Hayom (Israel Today) op ed penned by Brig. Gen. (res.) Zvika Fogel, former chief of staff of the IDF's Southern Command, starts with these words:
The Arab world, especially its radical Islamic component, is taking advantage of Western political weakness. Almost every Western leader is currently choosing to avoid making the tough decisions necessary to combat radical Islam, which is threatening the free world. Fears of short-term political losses at home are preventing Western leaders from exhibiting the courage to ensure normal life in their countries in the long run...
Fogel's conclusion sounds what we think is the right note:
The more than one hundred terror incidents in Judea and Samaria each month are definitive proof that even when we choose the path of reconciliation and compromise, there remains on the ground an ongoing extremist ideological belief among the Palestinians against our right to live here. The Palestinian Authority, with which we conduct negotiations about coexistence, does not have the desire or capability to deal with extremism among its people. If that is the case, we must complete the job of defeating terrorism in Judea and Samaria. Western leaders, who keep pressuring us to make concessions and pay an unbearable price in lives, must understand that supporting Israel in its fight against terror is part of the overall Western fight against terror, and benefits everyone.
The entire article, "Defeat the enemy" is here.

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