Clean Out the Stables and Prepare for War - Part III

By Moshe Sharon

 

The Shi'ah

To this point we have addressed Islam in general, however it is necessary to pay special attention to Shi'ite Islam against which the State of Israel has just fought and will have to fight under more difficult conditions in the future. Shi'ite Islam is the more messianic branch of Islam. It has built itself up as a religio-political body, concentrating its hopes, beliefs and aspirations around the image of the "Hidden Imám," the Mahdi whose imminent appearance from his hiding place is anticipated at any moment. The Shi'ite messianic concept is unlike the Sunni and Jewish ones. In contrast to these, according to which the identity of the Messiah is not precisely determined, the Mahdi of the Shi'ah is a living Messiah. His personal identity is known, he is a direct descendent of Muhammad; he has a name (also Muhammad), his father and his ancestors are known; he is alive and well in his hiding place in this world and awaiting the opportunity to appear. It will be an impressive appearance with a drawn sword and blood and fire. He will go to war against the whole world (including Sunni Islam). The Mahdi will win; and finally, a descendant of the Prophet will rule over Islam in its entirety – the one, true Amir al-Mu'minin – Commander of the Faithful.

The Shiites have always been, and remain a minority. Throughout their history they have born the mark of Cain on their foreheads for the murder (in 680CE) of the third imam, Imam Hussein. True, they did not murder him; it was the representatives of the Sunni government who did it; however they feel that they were accomplices to the crime, and that, in their eyes, was a terrible sin against God. The sin of standing idly by when Hussein was murdered rests on every Shi'ite wherever he may be and cannot be expiated. It is a bloody stain that cannot be erased. All the Shi'ites can do is to remember the murder every moment of their lives and attempt to feel some of the pain that Hussein felt on the day he died. Therefore, the Shi'ites perform their " 'Ashurá" ceremonies (called ta'ziyah) in public. They cut themselves with knives, daggers and swords, spill each other's blood and even spill the blood of babies in their cradles in an outburst of mass ecstasy, and they aspire to die at that moment as an act of identification with the death of the Prophet's grandson. These horrific acts are displayed publicly in the media in the entire world and no one draws the conclusions concerning the nature of a religion that sanctifies bloodshed even of its own members. This one day, the 10^th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year, expresses, perhaps more than anything else, the death wish, the desire for martyrdom and the thirst for suffering, pain and blood.

Throughout their history, the Shi'ites have sought to achieve some sort of legitimacy for themselves in the Sunni world, in whose eyes they are considered "dissenters." Now they believe that they have found the way to accomplish that: The destruction of Israel will provide the desired legitimacy. Over the course of more than 50 years, the Islamic Sunni world – headed by the huge Arab world surrounding Israel like a noose – has been unsuccessful in getting rid of the Jewish state. Now Iran, the only Shi'ite country in the world, is sure that it can do it. Under its leadership the Shi'ites will assume leadership of the jihad, the holy war against the entire world and they will start it from Israel. The aspiration to acquire nuclear weapons is part of the plan. Iran plans to use it and if in the process millions of Muslims die, all the better – paradise has room for all the martyrs. Perhaps that is what the Mahdi is waiting for, that the entire world be drawn into a colossal Armageddon. Surely he cannot remain indifferent when such mega-war takes place. The apocalypse is the appropriate backdrop for his appearance. He will certainly choose to appear surfing on waves of blood, blazing fire, and the billows of smoke of a radioactive world, and bring an end to the humiliation of Islam by the infidels and salvation to the world – a Muslim world free of Jews ruled by the laws of the Mahdi. Ahmadinezhad truly believes that he is destined to hasten his coming.

Great Satan, Little Satan

Hizbullah is a Shi'ite organization whose name means "Party of Allah." This name incorporates a patently Islamic idea – Hizbullah is actually the entire Islamic world, as all Muslims are Allah's party, all Muslims are his nation, all Muslims are his army; and they are obligated, as the Qur'an states explicitly, to fight for him in order to impose his law on the entire world. The Hizbullah of Lebanon is avant-garde, the front-line camp of Allah's army and as such it fulfills the role of fighting against the front line of the Satan – Israel. This explains the demonological imagery that we see and hear on a daily basis in the Arab media outlets: Israel is the devil's son, the "little Satan"; America, England and the Western world in general are the great Satan: that is to say, the ultimate negative force confronting Allah and the entire Muslim nation. The great Satan confronts the Great Hizbullah – the Islamic nation in its entirety. Dealing with the great Satan is an all-Islamic duty, and this is the responsibility of the all-Muslim great fighting organization: al-Qa'ida spreading far its octopus-like arms, and supported as it is by the massive economic wealth of the Muslims. The little Lebanese Hizbullah confronts the little Satan.

All that was written above should have been known to the Israeli governments and its leaders, as it is known to every orientalist who isn't deluding himself and does not allow his political inclinations take precedence over the professional truth. However, the truth is that most of them have deluded themselves, and it is doubtful if, when the facts are thrown in their faces, they will admit it and disavow their previous positions.

 

The End of the "Era of Peace"

Here is the reality as it truly is:

The end of the era of make-believe "peace" has arrived. There never was any such thing. There is only the era of war – past, present and future – and that alone must be dealt with and preparations must be made only for its difficult developments. The Jewish public does not go to war happily. It prefers even a spark of calm over war. It prefers to go to sleep with "A Star Is Born" TV program or similar nonsense, and is willing to fall asleep to the cooing of Shimon Peres's doves of peace. Therefore it is surprised when it is awakened by the sound of the explosions of missiles.

By establishing war as the only existing alternative in this part of the world ("agreements" are also part of it), the public justifiably asks: How long? And the answer is: Until the Muslims lose all hope of liquidating us, and that means forever. The Arabs and Islam in general will never be able to come to terms with the reality expressed in the simple question posed on a daily basis by one or another Muslim leader: How is it possible that a billion and a half Muslims, who control massive resources, cannot wipe out (another) six million Jews ensnared in a fifty-kilometer-wide death trap. This reality offends the honor of the Muslims, angers them, and unceasingly incites feelings of revenge within them.

Anyone unwilling to understand that this is the genuine reality with which we must live and anyone unwilling to deal with it, does not belong in the Middle East – the old, cruel Middle East. It is possible that he doesn't belong in Europe either because it has already surrendered; it has lost.

 

Back to classical wars

We must, therefore, return to classical warfare. Not a "small, smart army," like the one suggested by Ehud Barak, the Prime Minister who brought the Party of God down on our heads, but a big, strong army. We need all the power: A large regular army, emergency warehouses filled to capacity and beyond, a reserve-force trained and skilled to the utmost capability. An end to all the various exemptions and an end to draft-dodging for reasons of conscience or for any other reason. Every healthy young man to the army, to combat units! A fundamental change of values, a reordering of national priorities: Everything for an offensive force, not a defensive one; a well-trained military force standing ready to attack with maximum power and with maximum force. No longer the Israel Defense Force but the Israel Offense Force: A Jewish jihad in our time of need. Our enemy is already standing at our doorstep.

 

The war's objective: Syria must be destroyed

Ceterum censeo Syriam esse delendam ("In addition, I believe that Syria must be destroyed" following Cato the Elder who ended every speech before the Roman Senate: Ceterum censeo Cartaginem esse delendam "In addition, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed.")

In the recent war we were not far from being routed; and to a great extent, in the eyes of the enemy it was in fact a rout. As I write these lines, I hear the Syrian President announce our defeat. He is probably correct as he is still alive and able to speak.

It is not against Lebanon that we should have fought this war, but rather against Syria, Hizbullah's patron and the link connecting Iran and Hizbullah. Syria should have been totally destroyed. No infrastructure, economic or otherwise should exist today – the airports, the fuel storage facilities, the dams on the Euphrates, the army headquarters, the missile systems and the presidential palaces all should have become heaps of ruins and the Israeli army should have been on the outskirts of Damascus. That was the result of the war that the entire enlightened world anticipated. Instead, it was astounded to see the lack of decisiveness, the vacillation over "a limited action" and "a little here a little there" while Hizbullah fire blanketed the country, reaching its center. This fire would have ended eventually and all of the war's objectives would have been achieved the moment that Syria was reduced to rubble. That could have been accomplished if Israel had a bold leadership, which understood precisely the significance of the comprehensive battle for survival against which Israel is standing. Iran, too, would certainly have begun thinking differently.

 

Strategic Depth

And another classical concept of warfare – strategic depth. This is a commodity that Israel requires above all else with its back to the sea. Before 1967, Israel lacked strategic depth and it literally fought from within its capital city. The Six Day War provided it with limited strategic depth, until the Oslo fools came along and relinquished it to our worst enemies; Arafat's gangs, whose declared aim is the destruction of Israel. However, the army retains control of the "killing area" of the Jordan Valley, and backed by the Jewish settlements it can control the mountain region. The withdrawal fools relinquished territories of the highest strategic importance in Gaza and exposed the country to missile terrorism, and other withdrawal fools seek to cede the last remaining strategic depths in Judea and Samaria. If that, God forbid, were to happen, Israel would become a narrow coastal country, like the post-1187 Crusader state, which would eternally tempt its enemies to destroy it. What a disaster it will be if the Palestinian holy warriors acquire even a fraction of the Hizbullah's power. The residents of the north fled to the center of the country. Where will the residents of the Tel Aviv bubble flee when not Katyushas, but merely primitive kassams and mortars are fired upon it from Samaria? Into the sea to fulfill the Arabs' great dream?

A substitute for the strategic depth that we lost in Lebanon has not and will not be found. The result of that loss is the destruction of the Galilee and the helpless stance in the face of the barrage of missiles. When the IDF fled Lebanon in 2000 under orders from the blind Israeli government, the adherents of the flight said that there would be no more fatalities in Lebanon. The price, they said, was steep: 25 dead per year. In the present war, we are mourning our dead – we have paid exorbitant interest in dead, wounded, disabled, and destruction for each of those six years.

 

The Palestinians

And regarding the Palestinians. Here we must sharply and decisively do away with that nonsense called the Palestinian State. Not because of a "messianic" vision as the opponents of Jewish settlement in the mountains say, but rather because a Palestinian State which would be a member of the Arab League and which would control the coastal plain from the mountains, is a surefire recipe for destruction. Therefore, in the framework of reordering the national priorities, the settlement in the mountains should be established as a fundamental component in the new order, right after rehabilitation of the military force. This is also an excellent way to combat terrorism. For every casualty of terrorism, Israel should announce the establishment of a new settlement. There is no doubt that the enemy would quickly understand the implications. Had we acted this way in the past, there would be dense Jewish population in the mountains providing support for the army (just as it did in Gush Katif before it was laid waste) and the various terrorists would have to think hard whether it was worthwhile to kill Jews. The Jewish state needs every inch in the east in order to defend the residents of the bubble and the heart of the state. This is an existential need, not ambitions of occupation, as there is no occupation here. A nation cannot occupy its own country.

Therefore, the nonsense of building a "security fence" should be halted and the billions saved should be earmarked first for the army and for investment in other vital needs. A fighting nation does not hide behind a joke of cement and barbed wire fence. Even the Great Wall of China did not halt invaders.

Is there leadership in the State of Israel capable of facing this truth without fear, a far-sighted leadership, leadership that will develop Israeli might to the extent that its enemies will be forced to postpone the jihad against it indefinitely?

Is there leadership that will begin to establish fundamental values in the state that are based on truth and not on empty fantasies that have humiliated it and placed its very existence in danger?

Perhaps such leadership can be found after the stables are cleaned.

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