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 Gifts
for all occasions in the Galleria!July 30, 2006 A Glimpse of the Future By Jan A. Larson The Israel - Hezbollah conflict should be enlightening to Americans and others who can't seem to understand the nature of the threat of radical Islam. Alas, I fear it is not. As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies around the Middle East calling for an end to the violence, an international force to patrol southern Lebanon and disarming the Hezbollah guerillas, appearances suggest that this "conflict" is really not any different than countless other armed conflicts that have arisen over border disputes, etc. over the centuries. That is, a compromise and a settlement can be reached that would allow the warring parties to live in peace. What so many, including (apparently) Secretary Rice, some members of Congress and many others around the world fail to understand is that there is no "compromise" possible with a group such as Hezbollah whose sole mission is to destroy Israel and eventually every nation and person that they deem to be an infidel. This isn't a squabble between children in the back seat of the car over a candy bar; it is confrontation between your child and a great white shark, an African black mamba or an Australian saltwater crocodile. There is no compromise possible. The Hezbollah guerillas don't want to simply live in peace. They live to kill Israelis. That is their purpose in life. They cannot be appeased in any other way. The notion that these radicals can simply be moved away from the Israeli border and everything will be fine is simply ludicrous. As we have already seen, under the watchful eye of the United Nations, Hezbollah managed to import 13,000 rockets into Lebanon and now they are firing even longer-range missiles into Israel. Does anyone believe that pushing Hezbollah away from the border will stop them from trying to achieve their goal of wiping Israel from the map? No one questions that Iran is supporting Hezbollah and there is no doubt that Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if Hezbollah could launch a nuclear weapon into Israel, they would do so. They have no fear of death and no fear of retaliation, such as was the case with the nuclear standoff between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This is the nature of the so-called "war on terror(ism)." Hezbollah, al Qaeda, Hamas, etc. are all bent on destroying Israel, the United States and the Western way of life. There is no possible way to compromise or contain people whose only goal is our destruction. There is nothing that will deter them. There is only one way to stop them and that is to destroy them and prevent the states that support them from having the weapons that they would use to accomplish their goals. Until people in this country and the rest of the Western world wake up to the fact that dealing with worldwide terrorist groups is not the same as dealing with nation-states, that they cannot be appeased or compromised with and that they will never stop trying to achieve their goal until they are forcibly stopped, we are all in mortal danger. These groups do not respect the "rules of war" and think nothing of killing civilians or using civilians, as Hezbollah is doing in Lebanon, to achieve their goals. They have just one goal - win and win at all costs, no matter what that cost may be. Israel is doing the United States and the rest of the West a huge favor by confronting Hezbollah with overwhelming ("disproportionate") force. They are showing the rest of the world what must be done to confront and defeat Islamic terrorists. I hope that we're paying attention, because this war is merely a glimpse into a future that will be more horrific and deadly once the weapons are no longer hundred pound rockets, but nuclear missiles. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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