Thursday, August 28, 2014

Al-Qaeda Advances to Israel's Northern Border



by Carol Brown


Israelis are not happy with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And they shouldn’t be.

The headline at Israel National News reads: “Majority of Israelis Think Israel Didn't Win Gaza Operation”

Journalist Ari Yashar writes:
Poll: 59% say op. not a success, as Netanyahu's approval rating nose-dives further to a paltry 32%; majority oppose ceasefire.  snip
Clearly the disappointment is not directed at the IDF, which 83% of the public said it was satisfied with - instead Israelis apparently are severely dissatisfied with the political echelon, and Netanyahu at its head.  (snip)
Criticism has been pouring in from all corners over Netanyahu's apparent unwillingness to take decisive action against Hamas and return security to residents of the south.
Two Israelis in Kibbutz Nirim were killed by mortar fire an hour before the 7 p.m. Tuesday ceasefire, as Hamas terrorists launched a final barrage that lasted up till 15 minutes after the ceasefire went into effect.
Former MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari picked apart Netanyahu's leadership of the operation on Tuesday night, slamming him for "holding negotiations under fire with a gang of terrorists" - something which Netanyahu swore he would not do a mere two weeks ago.
Ben-Ari likewise quoted Netanyahu, who referenced the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terror group in Iraq and Syria saying "Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas." Following through on Netanyahu's comparison, Ben-Ari said "that means that Netanyahu held negotiations with ISIS."
Like the majority of Israelis, I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out Netanyahu’s strategy. He has talked tough, but then he has seemed to back down from his own words.

At the same time, world condemnation of Israel was ramping up to overflowing levels of hatred during this recent war with Hamas – a war one could argue Hamas won on several levels.  

On the other hand, the world condemns Israel not matter what she does, so it seems there is no winning. In which case, best to defend the nation in the strongest way possible. And from where I sit (as neither a politician nor a military strategist), it’s not clear Netanyahu has done that.

And now, in addition to dealing with Hamas, their missiles, their lethal force, their psychological warfare, and successful PR campaign, al Qaeda is just over the Syrian border.

We cannot afford to take our eyes off of Israel. She is on the bleeding edge of the fight against Islamic jihad. And while I have doubts about how Netanyahu has handled the threat from Hamas this summer, I agree with him that “Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas.”

And al-Qaeda.

And Hezb’allah.

And Boko Haram.

And al-Nusra.

And all the rest.

The advance against Israel is an ultimate advance against the United States. She is like the first wave of troops that get sent into battle. If she goes down, we’re up next.


Carol Brown

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/08/alqaeda_advances_to_israels_northern_border.html

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

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