printProfessor Clyde Wilson has a post on Chronicles magazine titled “What Is History? Part 11.” Alongside other worthies, the professor excerpts a line I wrote in “Betraying Brave Boys”:
“… a brave nation fights only because it must; a cowardly nation fights because it can.”
My gratitude to Judge Robert E. Reavis for letting me know. Judge Reavis writes:
“Clyde Wilson over at Chronicles has put you in the company of some pretty stout minds and spunky personalities. Of course I think you deserve it but it is good to see others think so as well.”
I briefly interviewed Professor Wilson, a noted Southern scholar, for my review of the film “Cold Mountain,” entitled “Hollywood’s Hateful Hooey About The South.”
With respect to the quote, Israel lived by the tenet it expressed up until its Lebanon Wars; the last taking place in 2006. Following the principle of monkey-see-monkey-do, Israel took a page out of the annals of unjust American wars, and waged such a war against Lebanon.
Update (April 16): In response to our reader’s comment below: As I explained in “Israel Risks Sundering Moral High ground,” a just war is proportional. It means you don’t level an entire country and kill a thousand innocents, because of a localized attack, where 3-4 people were seized. Such an attack is more efficiently and more justly dealt with by “Precision Pac Men.”
Granted, the Israelis were not nearly as unjust as we were in attacking Iraq, but neither were they as righteous as they had been in all past wars for survival. But unlike Americans, the Israeli people responded magnificently in rejecting the onslaught in Lebanon. Their government will not be prosecuting an unjust war anytime soon. That’s more than we can say about ours.
I don’t quite understand why the 2006 war against Hiz’ballah is to be compared to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Iraqis were not attacking the U.S., certainly not directly, whereas Hiz’ballah was regularly launching rockets into Israel, though admittedly the launch rate increased substantially after the war began. So, why the equivalence? Certainly the war was executed rather poorly by the IDF, but that doesn’t mean it was unjust.
“a just war is proportional. It means you don’t level an entire country and kill a thousand innocents, because of a localized attack”
I don’t agree a proportional war shows a lack of will and resolve, and only invites more attacks. A great nation honors the idea of “Civis Romanus sum”.
So what is the solution? There is no use appealing to the future since the means of killing vast numbers of people is about the only prospect there. I wonder if the huge amount of money spent on the Iraqi war could have bought a non-violent Palestinian solution?
[More meddling? “Non-violent” and “Palestinian” are mutually exclusive. The Palestinian’s Appetite For the Destruction of Israel is insatiable. More about this mindset in the Israel Archive.–IM]
Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese government, duly elected by the Lebanese people. If your sworn enemy is continually threatening your very existence, it stands to reason that you may make mistakes in judgement due to the dire circumstances.
Though Israel does regret the loss of innocent lives, unfortunately, the other side does not. Blowing up babies in their carriages is fair game amidst their other atrocities.
In the Arab-Israeli conflict the question is not about military vs. civilian, because the war is not between governments or armies but ENTIRE PEOPLES.
There are more than 500 million Arab and Iranian Muslims that surround only 5 million Jews, and are ready to push them into the Mediterranean Sea as soon as the Jews let their guard down. The so called “innocent Arab civilians” are not innocent at all. As it has repeatedly been shown by various public opinion polls, including “Gallup” and “Near East Consulting”, the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Arabs both Muslim and sadly ALSO CHRISTIAN support all these terrorist organisations in their quest to destroy the Jewish people. As far as I am concerned, there is no moral difference between a person who performs monstrous, evil and criminal acts on the one hand and a person who gives legitimacy to such actions on the other.
So the situation is really very simple. The Jews want to live and the Arabs want to exterminate them. Therefore how can any decent person question Israel’s right to defend herself? (Especially considering everything the Jews have been through.)
“Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese government, duly elected by the Lebanese people.”
I once thought this was an error on the part of the terrorists. That becoming part of a government while still committing terrorist acts would have opened their country to a conventional war, but it hasn’t happened.
“So what is the solution? There is no use appealing to the future since the means of killing vast numbers of people is about the only prospect there.”
Barring some natural disaster, or plague that is the future. I’m not happy about it, but I believe it is going to happen. This is the calm before the storm.
Ilana, have you seen the wonderful Israeli film “Beaufort” yet?
Amazing, highly recommended, one of the finest examples of Israeli cinema.