Go all the way

If the IDF doesn't finish the job now, residents of the north will have suffered in vain
Ephraim Sneh

Hizbullah was created by Iran as part of the ayatollahs' overall strategy. The organization has two principle purposes: One, to take control of Lebanon in order to turn it into an Islamic republic supported by Iran. And two, to fight Israel and to present a continuos strategic threat to this country. Iran wants to "blanket" Israel with missiles and rockets from Gaza in the south, the West Bank in the center of the country, and from Lebanon in the north.

 When Iranian President Ahmadinejad speaks about destroying Israel, he means exactly that. And before he obtains nuclear weapons, he is trying to hammer and weaken Israeli society with various types of rockets and missiles. Therefore, the war against Hizbullah is part of the wider war between Israel and the evil, hate-filled regime in Tehran that openly aspires to destroy Israel.

 Complete the mission

 It is clear why Israel cannot cease its fire in Lebanon before its mission is complete. The mission is to destroy Hizbullah's infrastructure in Lebanon and to push the organization away from the Galilee once-and-for-all. If we complete this mission, it will be our first victory over Iran and will constitute an unmistakable message that we have no intention to shy away from Iran's nuclear and terrorist threats.

 It will also be a lesson to other Western democracies, which are afraid to confront Tehran. 

For six years Iran has stockpiled rockets and missiles in south Lebanon and managed to create a balance of horror with Israel. The threat of hundreds of rockets on Israeli towns and villages has forced Israel to restrain itself in the face of repeated provocations along the Lebanese border.

 Strong home front

 The decision not to hold back after the kidnapping of two soldiers and the killing of their comrades was the correct decision. There is no way to root out Hizbullah by stopping the operation with some political agreement that could restore the status quo in south Lebanon. Were that to happen, the suffering of residents in northern Israel would have been in vain.

 In recent days I have visited embittered residents of the north, and the message I have been hearing has been very clear: We are prepared to withstand these difficult times, provided the government carries out the destruction of Hizbullah to the very end.

 A personal note

 And on a personal note: In 2000 I warned against a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon because of the vacuum that would be created by an IDF pullout in the absence of an agreement. I said that Hizbullah would take over the area in all its force, and would massively deploy its rockets close to our villages in the north. This is exactly what happened. Now, the IDF is correcting the mistake.

I also warned that the message we would be sending to the Arab world would be that it pays more to make Israel bleed than it does to negotiate with her. That is exactly how the Palestinians understood our unconditioned withdrawal from Lebanon. Four months after the pullout from Lebanon the second intifada broke out. We lost more than 1,000 people.

I hope we have learned the bitter lesson.