How Israel causes Mideast conflict
Joseph Farah
Posted: September 5, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern


Many have suggested Israel is the root cause of conflict in the Middle East.

In the past I have defended the Jewish state from this charge. I have made the case that, if anything, Israel has bent over backward to make peace. But in doing so, could Israel actually be making things worse?

I believe so. The truth is that Israel has compromised too much. It has not retaliated strongly enough. And its Arab population is the freest in the Arab world.

Ironically, I'm not the only one who believes this. Israel's most ardent adversaries – the very people who want to destroy the Jewish state at any cost – agree with me. And I can prove it to you.

Who would you say is Israel's most implacable foe? Would you agree that it is al-Qaida – the terrorist group that attacked the U.S. Sept. 11, 2001, and is now openly organizing in Gaza?



What would you say if I told you al-Qaida believes God gave the Jewish people an eternal covenant with the "Promised Land"? Would you say I was nuts? How about if I told you al-Qaida believes this contract between God and the Jewish people has been abrogated only because Israel has not been determined enough to defeat its enemies in obedience to God? Would it change your opinion of the Middle East dynamic if you learned that al-Qaida believes Israel's compromises with and concessions to its enemies persuades al-Qaida that it is unworthy of fulfilling God's covenant with the Jews?

I'm not going to give you my opinion about this. I'm going to give you al-Qaida's verbatim analysis.

But before I do, let me summarize it for you:

Israel's "sin" is in not fearing God. Israel lacks the faith to fight for the land God bequeathed it. The Jews are willing to compromise with God's promise by giving up the land of Israel piece by piece. That's what al-Qaida believes, according to a report it issued just over a year ago.

Here are translated excerpts from that Arabic-language al-Qaida report from July 2005 threatening imminent attacks on the Jewish state:

God decided to test the Jews when they were still an oppressed people while still captive in Egypt. God seeks to lead them to the path of faith and victory and therefore urges them to conquer the Land of Israel. But the Jews are unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve the goal.
To this day, the Jews have not learned that God grants victory only to those who struggle for victory.
Throughout the generations, Jews, unlike Muslims, showed that they do not fear God or recognize Him as the moving force in the universe. Instead, they are more concerned with what man thinks.
For this reason, the Jews find it easier to break the covenant between God and Abraham, which awarded the land of Israel to the Jews forever. (Genesis 15:18)

Zerwat al Sanam

In the Internet magazine Zerwat al Sanam, meaning "Tip of the Camel's Hump," the al-Qaida author of this screed, Abu Zubeida al-Baghdadi, concludes that Israel's willingness to compromise with its enemies gives the Arabs an opportunity to be God's vehicle to destroy the Jews.

The report goes on to suggest the best timing to launch attacks against Israel to fulfill God's will. It also makes clear that the real enemy, beyond the Jews, is the West.

This analysis is wholly in line with the Quran, which states in the Table, Sura 5:20: "Bear in mind the words of Moses to his People. He said: 'Remember, my People, the favor which God has bestowed upon you. He has raised up prophets among you, made you kings, and has given you that which He has given to no other nation. Enter, my People, the holy land which God has assigned for you. Do not turn back, and thus lose all."

The voices of international appeasement continue to advise Israel to accommodate the enemies who seek to destroy the Jews and Western civilization. It has not worked and it will not work. In fact, as al-Qaida's warped theologians illustrate, it will have just the opposite of the intended effect. Compromise will always convince Israel's enemies that it is weak, disobedient to God, unworthy of His promises and ripe for destruction.

And that's why I, too, believe Israel remains its own worst enemy. That is how Israel continues to worsen conflict in the Middle East, to make escalating violence inevitable, to engender more contempt and hate from its enemies.

How? By not obeying God – by not believing in the Divine promises that made it a nation and by putting its faith in man rather than the Creator of the universe.

If Israel truly wants to understand its enemies, if it truly wants their respect, it is pushing all the wrong buttons.

[Edited by - colorfl1 on 09-05-2006 5:37 PM]

Posted by Rich:

Posted by colorfl1:

I wonder how much a barrel of oil would cost if a nuclear Iran took over Oil wells in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordon?('');

We know two things: 1) that Iran isn't close to having nukes; and 2) that your scenario has zero chance of ever happening.

But Iran will control Iraq (or at least the Shiite dominated part) without nukes becaause of our stupid decision to invade that country.

[Edited by - Rich on 09-06-2006 01:02 AM]

I think your assessment is not really addressing the seriousness of this crises.
Inspecters have found traces of weapons grade uranium (a kind intended only for hostile purposes) which was processed in Iran, and not via imported traces.
Does it matter that Iran is years away from effectively delivering the bomb... it is the very know-how that is threatening to stability. It is essential for them to be prevented from making technological advances in this vain... a strike on their clandestine facilities can send back their ability to export and share their technology with other rogue entities another 6 years.

You may not be alarmed by the threat presented by advancements made by this facist shia regime to their neighbors... but the governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait are very worried about the apocalyptic ambitions of Iran's clereical leadership.,, they worry that Iran will try to force the west into a confrontation with Islam in the hopes of ushering in the end times and a new golden Islamic age...

I believe taht their concern is very sincere and that they cannot afford to indulge in your posture because if they worry about the already shifting stability of their region.

colorfl1 is like the MaTT of the Bush thread.

http://www.epsusa.org/publications/newsletter/june2006/klare.htm

The Iranian leadership is well aware that it faces a serious threat from the Bush administration and is no doubt taking whatever steps it can to prevent such an attack. Here, too, oil is a major factor in both Tehran’s and Washington’s calculations. To deter a possible American assault, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and otherwise obstruct oil shipping in the Persian Gulf area. “An attack on Iran will be tantamount to endangering Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and, in a word, the entire Middle East oil,” Iranian Expediency Council secretary Mohsen Rezai said on March 1st.

Such threats are taken very seriously by the US Department of Defense. “We judge Iran can briefly close the Strait of Hormuz, relying on a layered strategy using predominantly naval, air, and some ground forces,” Vice Admiral Lowell E. Jacoby, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on February 16.

Planning for such attacks is, beyond doubt, a major priority for top Pentagon officials. In January, veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reported in the New Yorker magazine that the Department of Defense was conducting covert reconnaissance raids into Iran, supposedly to identify hidden Iranian nuclear and missile facilities that could be struck in future air and missile attacks. “I was repeatedly told that the next strategic target was Iran,” Hersh said of his interviews with senior military personnel. Shortly thereafter, the Washington Post revealed that the Pentagon was flying surveillance drones over Iran to verify the location of weapons sites and to test Iranian air defenses. As noted by the Post, “Aerial espionage [of this sort] is standard in military preparations for an eventual air attack.” There have also been reports of talks between US and Israeli officials about a possible Israeli strike on Iranian weapons facilities, presumably with behind-the-scenes assistance from the United States.

In reality, much of Washington’s concern about Iran’s pursuit of WMD and ballistic missiles is sparked by fears for the safety of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, other Persian Gulf oil producers, and Israel rather than by fears of a direct Iranian assault on the United States. “Tehran has the only military in the region that can threaten its neighbors and Gulf security,” Jacoby declared in his February testimony. “Its expanding ballistic missile inventory presents a potential threat to states in the region.” It is this regional threat that American leaders are most determined to eliminate...

Iraq to take control of armed forces
By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press WriterWed Sep 6, 6:18 PM ET
Iraq will take control of its armed forces command on Thursday, a major step on its painful path toward independence and an essential move before international troops can eventually withdraw.

Despite the progress, there was more bloodshed with at least 36 people killed across the country in car bombs, mortar attacks and drive-by shootings. Police also found 29 bodies.

"This is such a huge, significant event that's about to occur tomorrow," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said of the shift in the Iraqi command. "If you go back and you map out significant events that have occurred in this government's formation in taking control of the country, tomorrow is gigantic."

We need to Phuch Iran's leadership up and liberate them.

I have a close friend who is Iranian, his family still live there, but he needed to escape after the Shaah was overthrown. He spends a great deal of energy trying to help the west obtain reliable intel on Iran...
he explained to me that the Iranian people are proud of their persian heritage, one that was very progressive in human rights in the ancient world (cyrus the great)... he told me that the majority of the country is intimidated and held hostage by the Islamo-facist police state. The people do not want these people ruling them or their oppressive policies... he truly believes that if the current Iranian regime was ever weakened, the majority of Iranians (of pursian decent) would welcome reform and help establish a moderate government.

Posted by colorfl1:

Posted by Rich:

Posted by colorfl1:

Posted by Rich:

Attacking Iran at this point would be lunacy.

If Israel made a preemptive attack on Iran's suspected nuclear sites...
Iran and its partners would actively try to distroy the Jewish state...,
oh wait they already do that...
what exactly is preventing Israel from doing the world's dirty work???
I don't think that they are concerned that they will fall into disfavour with their neighbours or become a target for Islamic terrorist groups...

It's been widely stated by credible people like Gen.(Ret.) Barry McCaffrey that we don't know where the reactors are.

An attack at this point would be counterproductive.

[Edited by - Rich on 09-06-2006 11:40 PM]

US intelligence on Iran is lackluster at best... Israel is far more proficient in their Iranian Intel...

You don't think we share intel on such sensitive subjects?

Olmert blew the Hezbollah thing. He's not the right PM to attack Iran. His gov't is falling apart anyway.

Posted by colorfl1:

You need to distinguish betwen Bush Jr.'s posse and the state department... the US state department has always been highly suspicious of Israeli intel and has been apt to consistently leave the Jewish state out to dry and instead pursue the US's immediate best interest in the region... 9/11 has helped the Bush administration prevail in their assessment that Israel and the US share complimentary objectives in the region, and that short sighted comprimises are an unacceptable option in the post 9/11 weltshang...

Yet Bush has screwed the U.S. and Israel by not being engaged in the peace process with the Palestinians, which, however distasteful, is the key to splitting the Sunnis and the Shias which is the holy grail for removing the influence of Iran in the Middle East.