The Price of Freedom

Photo of Western Wall (last remaining foundation from the Second Temple of Solomon
and the Dome of the Rock Islamic Shrine) borrowed from David Titherly. Thanks!

"Rut Row Raggy..."
An all out "open war" has been declared by both Israel and Hezbollah. What does that mean for the United States?

Well for starters, we have long been allied with the Israeli State since its very foundations. The US has donated over $90 billion to Israel, more than any other nation has donated to Israel in the world. They are a financial investment ally. They are strategically located in the Middle East. Their enemies, Islamic Fundamentalists, are our enemies (therefore making us friends as the saying goes). I have a unsubstantiated feeling that our early appeasement of Hitler and our later discoveries and eventual liberation of Nazi death camps may have weighed heavily on our conscience and solidified our resolve to aid Israel. Many key leaders in our government are Jewish and, while there is a huge difference between Jews and Israelis, a certain bond has been established between Jewish-Americans and their homeland.

"Oh...That Little Guy? I Wouldn't Worry About That Little Guy..."
Our support of Israel in fact goes deeper than most know. After doing a little inspired research, I found some events that are somewhat disturbing. Apparently, we have overlooked certain "incidents" that would otherwise create a terrible furor in our land had they been perpetuated by any other group of people:

The most incredulous incident is a direct military attack on a US naval vessel. On June 8th, 1967, Israeli Defense Forces launched a sustained air and sea based attack on the USS Liberty, killing 34 US naval personnel (I just can't bring myself to write "seamen," sorry...) Have you heard of this? I must have missed that class. Israel later declared the event a tragic accident. Apparently, they mistook our Technical Research Vessel for an Egyptian resupply freighter. So they say. Key personnel in the US government tend to disagree:

"I can tell you for an absolute certainty (from intercepted communications) that the Israelis knew they were attacking an American ship." -- NSA Deputy Director Oliver Kirby

"That the Liberty could have been mistaken for the Egyptian supply ship El Quseir is unbelievable" -- Special Assistant to the President Clark Clifford, in his report to President Lyndon Johnson

So, yeah, the fact that we have overlooked this event says a lot about our very close ties to Israel. And to be fair, this is not an isolated incident to be sure. We have commited equal atrocities in other countries (presumably on accident) many of which are spoken of in one of my more recent reads, Lies My Teacher Told Me, by Dr. James Loewen. I am not trying to defend Israel's brutal attack on the Liberty, nor our own forays in the name of democracy, but I feel it is necessary to put into perspective. The world's governments are FULL of shady business!

The honorable mention of our ability to "turn the other cheek" for our allies is the mulitple cases of espionage that have led to deportation rather than prosecution. I don't believe the conspiracy theories that Jewish Americans in our government are trying to create a Zionist footprint on our soil, but I do believe that Israel would not turn down anything that would secure their place in the Middle East as rightful owners of Jerusalem (even if it means spying on their best friend). It's all about self-preservation, holmes.

With all this being said, we continue to veto any UN proposal to condemn Israeli retaliation against Islamic extremists.

The Short Answers

To what level will we go to assist Israel against her enemies? Will we commit forces? Highly unlikely.

Will we continue to piss off Islamic Terrorists with our unwavering support of their worst enemy? Absolutely.

My Views
This newest conflict makes me pretty nervous. Hezbollah in Palestine is supported by Hezbollah in Lebanon, who is supported by radical Shiites in Iran, who have close ties with North Korea. That is just an ugly combination. Uncle Jimbo has a link referencing this subject on Blackfive that will make you chuckle nervously.

As far as Israel goes, it is a land that has been possessed by many owners. Jews, Christians, and Muslims (not to mention Pagans and Romans) have layed claim to the same parcels of land for over thirty centuries. It will forever exist in turmoil. When two religions are sworn enemies of one another, how can they possibly have peace? Especially since their nations are founded and remain guided on the principles of their religious beliefs. Thank God for our separation of Church and State!

Personally, I am a Roman Catholic. But I truly admire some of the tenets of Judaism. The most inspiring is that, at least in Hacidic circles, not everyone is supposed to be Jewish! I know, can you believe it? And it gets better: even non-Jews are offered a place in "Heaven." Wow! That thought brings tears to my eye. Christians spend half of their life and money trying to convert heathonous masses in the darkest places of the world so that they may join Jesus in Heaven and not rot in Hell with other non-believers (to include Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc.), while Islamic fundamentalists under Sharia would kill every infidel had they the logistics to do so to purify the world according to Allah's Will (oooh, especially those Zionists next door-them first!)

I may be somewhat overexaggerating, but you get the point. Bottom line, the Jews are not trying to take over the World and convert all along the way, unlike the insurgents that have tried to kill me personally on occasion (by the way). While Israel may use tactics that are sketchy or even immoral (which we are all guilty of from time to time, but I am not condoning it--it is still reprehensible), while they may spy on us (we always seem to catch them though), I fail to see why we shouldn't always support Israel for the sake of our own preservation in the Middle East.

Their enemies (Muslim extremists) claim that the Holocaust never existed and that the Zionist pigs are trying to take over the world. I just don't see it. I have been wrong before, but I just don't see it. What I have seen is Islamic extremists who desire to make everyone Muslim or dead. And in essence, try to take over the world.

So my final verdict is: In the battle between Islamic fundamentalist extremists and the State of Israel, we must remain steadfast in our support to our current ally. We do not need to send troops or even weapon systems. But we must represent them as an ally and either back them up when they are doing what we would to defend our country or let them know when they do something horrible and hold them accountable.

I welcome your comments...