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Steve Kramer: Israel: A crisis in the West is at hand
If I weren’t a very optimistic guy, I’d lose sleep every night over the situation that Israel and the West are in today. We’ve been at war for nearly 10 months with the terrorist Hamas movement which tyrannically rules Gaza. Hamas isn’t a regular, national army, but a very formidable foe not bound by any system of human rights or moral behavior. Hamas is a creature of Iran and operates strictly according to jihadism, as do Iran’s other proxies and allies, Hizbollah, the Houthis, and Iranian-led Arabs in Iraq and Syria. Iran’s primary goal was to establish a caliphate to rule over the Western world via Sharia law. (See Note at the end.)
“Islamists aim to reorder government and society in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia. Jihadists see the violent struggle as necessary to eradicate obstacles to restoring Allah’s Islamic rule on Earth [via a global caliphate] and defending the Muslim community, or umma, against infidels* and apostates.” ( www.bbc.com)
* Christians, Jews, and all non-Muslims are infidels according to Islam.
So how can one remain optimistic facing such an onslaught of warfare? One reason for Israel’s dire situation is that Israeli leaders, governmental and military, had become increasingly smug, complacent, and uncritical about Israel’s military clout, cyber security, and strategic position. Israeli citizens were lulled by the overconfidence of our leaders, who disparaged the Arab enemies who nearly surround Israel. They were convinced that Israeli brainpower could overcome the jihadists. Like many others, after the 10/7 catastrophe, I wondered how not even one high-ranking leader, military or otherwise, imagined that the 50th anniversary of the sneak attack that started the 1973 Yom Kippur War would be replicated.
As it turned out, there were many reports that Hamas was preparing for war, some even from 2022, that an attack that occurred on 10/7 was in the works. To make it absolutely horrible, in more than one instance the young female soldiers posted on the Gaza border watching computer screens 24 hours a day were reporting that there were many obvious signs that an attack was imminent. Even the simultaneous switching on of Israeli SIM cards across the border in Gaza on the night of the attack was not taken into account by the operators’ commanding officers.
Hopefully, Israel has passed the worst of it. By all accounts, Hamas has been decimated, its leaders are being eliminated, its ammunition and weapons supplies are rapidly diminishing, its front line soldiers are substantially fewer and lacking leadership. The IDF is in charge throughout most of Gaza, scores of miles of tunnels have been obliterated, and the IDF controls the border crossing with Egypt at Rafah, the land connection to Egypt (the Philadelphi Corridor) through which the majority of materiel is transported. Egyptian military and political higher-ups have been happy to look the other way from the cross-border traffic because of the huge bribes that are paid.
However, even with the pre-October 7 “delusion” – and its disastrous outcome – of a smart border with reduced manpower )which was destroyed by low-tech trucks, hang gliders, ladders, and wire cutters(, Israel is under pressure to withdraw its troops and suffice with Egyptian proposals to: “include the phased construction of a giant wall along the 8 miles Gaza-Egypt border. The wall, they said, would stand 20 feet above the ground and six underground, with the subterranean part serving as a barrier preventing the digging of new tunnels, according to the sources. They said the wall would be fitted with cutting-edge security cameras and sensors.״(https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2024/07/18/israel-egypt-rafah-gaza-border-talks/)
Obviously, if Israel’s government caves into the admittedly huge pressure to remove all its troops from Gaza, Israel’s future is at risk. What’s needed is a change from our unsuccessful, overconfident leadership, governmental and military, who have become accustomed to settling for less than victory. A sea change in both realms, with a new generation of leaders at the helm who understand the necessity of victory, must replace the current management of our country.
The habit of adopting Western (read, American) “solutions” has failed in the non-Western Middle East. There are many negative effects of Israeli officers attending US military colleges which outweigh the positives. Israel is not like the US, which has oceans on both sides and friendly neighbors to the north and the south. Israel resides in the tumultuous Middle East, with invading armies just across its borders.
For its survival, Israel must stop Iran, the puppet master that dictates to Israel’s northern enemy Hizbollah and others. (So far, other Western democracies, especially the US, have failed to deter Iran and have even supported it.) Israel has to use all the necessary means it has to destroy the power of the mullahs in Iran, even alone if no ally will support us. Despite Iran’s threats against the US, America continues to give the mullahs all the money and tools it needs to achieve control over the Middle East. Perhaps a new government in the US would have a more realistic appraisal of the battle against the jihadists, which requires a powerful Israel-West bulwark.
“The Biden Administration must be held accountable for its appeasement of these Hamas terrorists, including handing over billions of dollars to them and their Iranian backers,” U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote on X Oct. 7.” (https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/oct/09/the-us-freed-6-billion-in-iranian-money-did-it/)
Just after the October 7 debacle Netanyahu proclaimed: “I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.” (April 16, 2023) Did he really mean it? Demonstrably, defensive measures are insufficient, and defending ourselves is just a stopgap.
Israel must achieve victory over its jihadi enemies using its prodigious offensive weapons. Yes, there will be a huge cost to the civilians of our enemies; the jihadists could care less. They’re on a mission that will end in paradise, they think. The alternative to victory is a huge cost to us Israelis, about whom our government does care. Israel has a duty to its diverse population of Jews, Muslims, Druse, and others to protect its citizens by destroying our enemies. The crisis that Israel faces is hopefully the catalyst that will trigger offensive action by the US and other Western countries to help destroy the Iranian axis. A crisis presents an opportunity to win or to lose. Israel can’t afford the latter. Neither can the West.
NOTE: While Iran has named Israel the Little Satan and America the Great Satan, jihadism is already making progress in Western Europe. European countries that foolishly opened wide their borders to an influx of Muslims from North Africa and Asia are facing trouble. Here are current statistics from several Western European countries showing the Muslim percentage of their populations, from today to (high end) estimates in the year 2050: France 10 to 18%, Sweden 8 to 30%, UK 6 to 17%, Germany 6 to 20%. Even with today’s limited Muslim influence, these countries are already losing their millennia-long culture and history.
The serious repercussions from the growing political clout of Muslims in many Western European countries is exacerbated by the high birth rate of the immigrant population compared to the far lower birthrate (far less than the replacement rate) of the host countries. Europe in the mid-21st century will be a far cry from the Europe we know today.
