Israel Matzav

Terrorism Has Many Faces

According to Tashbih Sayyed, Ph. D., the United States is losing the war on terror and is losing it for a very simple reason: it believes that the war on terror means defeating al-Qaida in Iraq, while ignoring terrorists elsewhere, especially in Israel and the administered territories. This theme resonates stronly with me as I am sure it does with many Israelis. I remember sitting in an office tower in Ramat Gan, watching the World Trade Center burn on TV and thinking, "maybe now the Americans will understand." Recall that the 'Palestinians' celebrated on 9/11.

But for some reason, President Bush and many Americans were leery about making the connection. So leery in fact, that six weeks after 9/11, with Ariel Sharon failing to convince President Bush that our war and the Americans' war is the same war, Sharon gave the famous Czechoslovakia speech, in which he said that Israel would not be 1938 Czechoslovakia and hinting that Bush would be wise not to play Neville Chamberlain. Bush reacted with fury - it was the worst moment of their relationship - and while they 'made up' over the course of the next few years, we are nearly five years from 9/11 and the Americans still don't get it. Maybe Dr. Sayyed can help them:

Because the United States launched this campaign and took it upon itself to mobilize and lead the international community against the Islamist scourge, it has to bear the responsibility for this failure. It is treating the enemy as if it has only one face - Al Qaida - and one front - Iraq. Bush, who has repeatedly said "Iraq is our main front in the war against terror" also seems to be convinced that the war on radical Islam will be won just by defeating Al-Qaida in Iraq.

This simple-hearted approach has helped the enemy tremendously: The Arab terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and southern Lebanon, the Taliban in Afghanistan and fascists like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran have emerged as the immediate beneficiaries of the US's misguided policies in the Middle East. Radical Islamists using their strongholds in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and PA territories have cast the U.S. campaign in Iraq as a crusade. This has helped Hamas and Iran's President Ahmadinejad in winning their elections. They have not only won the elections but have also renewed their call for the destruction of the Jewish State, and would also like to harm the U.S.

Washington's failure to fathom the true nature and reach of the Islamist threat has prevented the U.S. from adopting a uniform policy against the many different heads of a unified and universally connected Hydra. Even in the post-9-11 world, the only super power in the world is unable to pull out of its pre-September 11, 2001 slumber. It has remained selective in identifying the enemy, and has ignored some vital terrorist bases like Palestinian Authority territories where the terrorists operate with impunity.

The world needs to understand that Hamas's agenda of destroying the Jewish State is part of the same Islamist ideology that has an unalterable objective to enslave the whole world. It has many faces and many fronts. And all of these faces and fronts are equally important in this war on terrorism. They must be attacked simultaneously and with equal force. Just cutting off one head of the Islamist serpent and letting others to grow unimpeded will only result in the eventual victory for the enemy. Bush has to realize that in this war, saving Israel is as important as saving Iraq: The Insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan is strategically and tactically linked with Hamas's terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine.

...

The freedoms with which Islamists and Arabs have been allowed to carry-on their anti-Semitic, anti-Christian activities inside the U.S. have greatly contributed to the increased confidence of organizations like Hamas. U.S. reluctance to move against the Arab terrorist fronts within the U.S. gives the impression that Washington doesn't designate Arab anti-Semitic and anti-Christian activities to be illegitimate. There is no effort to investigate the real objectives of various Islamist groups who have setup their shops in the U.S. as Islamic civil right groups. Despite the warnings by various concerned organizations and individuals, these groups have been allowed to collect funds for the terrorist entities in the Jewish lands of Palestine and throughout the entire Arab world.

Nobody realizes that all of these groups who present themselves as anti-Zionists are basically anti-Americans. The leaders of these so called Islamic civil right groups are inherently and intrinsically anti-Semitic and anti-American. Thanks to the Arab money that is generously invested in financing various political candidacies, they do not encounter any difficulty in being invited to events by the U.S. Congressmen, Senators and even the White House. The visible presence of anti-Semitic groups on the hill and the U.S. failure to move with force against Arab terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine gives the impression that as far as Washington is concerned, terrorism against the Jewish people is not terrorism.

The manner in which Islamist terrorism is being discussed and dealt with by the U.S. gives the impression that it came into being only on September 11. 2001. Very few want to acknowledge that what happened on that black Tuesday in New York and Washington DC was the direct result of ignoring Islamist terrorism in Israel, and the many acts of militant Islamic terrorism against the U.S. both here and abroad that constituted acts of war.

Arab terrorism in the Jewish lands of Palestine is still being considered as simply an Israeli problem.

Homicide bombings in Israel, world support for the terrorist state of the Palestine Authority and sponsorship of terrorist groups like Hamas by world powers like the European Union, Russia and China has proven that the world is still susceptible to anti-Semitic influences.

One has to understand that the real cause of the Islamist terrorism is anti-Semitism. And that no war on terror can be won without eliminating this ancient affliction. Washington needs to understand that the U.S. policy of imposing peace in the Middle East at the cost of Israel's security will harm the U.S. interests in the region in the long run. Awarding a state to Hamas will only empower the Islamists. U.S. demands for an end to the "Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories" will only embolden the enemies of our freedoms.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:56 PM