We were tenting at Teton National Park for two weeks when the Lebanon war started, and could not respond earlier. Also, it is not easy to comment in the middle of a war, we know so little and so much is undecided, but allow me to make a few observations:

Iran’s and Hezbollah’s mental attitude is a great danger to our global security!

This reality is very difficult to grasp. Our survival depends on grasping it in time.

We are dealing here with people who have no morality, no truth, and no humanity in them. However, they have great wealth and power to drastically influence global events. They are eager to kill any one, including themselves, in the interest of their ideology. They hide behind women and children, happy when Lebanese civilians are killed by their actions (statement of a UN official). They are bombing Israel killing Arab women and children, and then calling them heroes. We, in the West, including many in Israel, are unable to comprehend their brutality and inhumanity. It is beyond our experience. We do not want to believe that human beings can degrade to that level. It shakes our core belief, the very culture we have bases our lives on for many, many years.

Make no mistake, Iran’s leaders are not uncontrolled emotional fanatics that are likely to falter by their own actions; they are clever, calculated and determined to get their way. They work long and diligently to achieve their strategic goal of Iranian style global Muslim power.

The verbal attacks and criticism of Israel by Western leaders and media are hindering Israel’s military actions. Many in the West are anti Semitic and use this opportunity to condemn Israel’s self defense. Our Sacramento Bee regional newspaper, for example, has been anti Israel for decades and uses every questionable opportunity to condemn Israel of atrocities, based on unproven and doctored pictures. Most people are unable to understand how the editors of media sources such as PBS, NY Times, and BBC manipulate the news to present Israel in a false light. If they care about innocent lives how can you explain that previously these media sources did not expressed outrage when Putin caused the death of over a quarter of a million Chechnyans, the three hundred children who died in a school in Russia, and the ten thousand civilian deaths when NATO bombed the infrastructure of Bosnia for three months. Why they kept quiet when two million civilians, natives and Christians, were murdered in Sudan by the Muslim government, and the deaths and suffering now at Darfur. The editor’s outrage rises only when a Muslim child dies (which we all regret) by a stray Israeli bomb. The Bee places a huge picture on the front page of the Sacramento Bee of this sad event, but the other million innocent casualties are rarely mentioned nor seen.

I rejected the notion of wide spread anti-Semitism most of my life. I did not experience it in Israel growing up and laughed in the face of it when I was confronted by it in the US. However, I am unable to find any other reason for the continuous condemnation spread by many Western world leaders and some of the media of Israel. Israel is not allowed to defend its citizens from unrelenting Arab attacks. Even in this clear case of self defense they are unwilling to see what is going on in the Middle East, blaming Israel for atrocities it did not commit.

Now, let’s look at some additional facts:
People are amazed by the support the US Administration and the President are giving Israel. I am pleased by it, but the US is looking for its own interest here. It let’s Israel fight a war that the US should have taken a leading role in- the elimination of global terror. Hezbollah has caused more US deaths than any other group except al Qaeda at 9/11. Iran’s and Hezbollah’s goal is destroying the “Great Satan” - the US, as they call us. Iran is pouring out one hundred million dollars a year to equip, support and train Hezbollah. In reality Hezbollah is a branch of the Iranian military. It is meticulously trained, supplied and supported by Iran’s fanatic leadership. Iran is a dangerous state and has feverishly worked for decades to fortify itself with nuclear weapons. Russia under Putin, in his effort to restore Russia’s global power, is the major supplier of Iran’s nuclear program and does very little to restrain them. Iran’s aim is clearly stated by their leadership: initially to dominate the Middle East and its vital oil supply, and then the world. China supports Iran because of its quest to secure oil supplies for its expanding economy, which we encourage by buying much of their production.

We ignore these facts of wide spread Islamist fascism since we do not want to do anything to upset the apple cart of a seemingly stable world. We can not visualize the alternative life the fanatics are working to impose on us.

Too many commentators expect another “military miracle” from Israel, like the victories of 67 and 73; mistaken perceptions. Israeli military does not defy the laws of nature; these wars were not miracles; victories came with thousands of Israeli military deaths. Israel was not prepared in 73 and it was touch and go for a while especially in the Golan, and Sharon saved the day in Egypt by a brilliant maneuver, counter crossing the Suez Canal. No missiles or air attacks were rained on Israeli civilians in those wars because Israel could have retaliated on enemy civilians.
In addition, these wars were fought by Israeli reserves which came from across the population. This war is being fought mostly by regular IDF troops, almost all young. Israel has great sensitivity for the death of its young soldiers.-their sons, grandsons, their brothers, and their hope for the future. If Israel initiated a massive ground war in Lebanon the Israeli public would not have tolerated it because it would have been accompanied by possibly of death of thousands of Israeli soldiers. My friends in northern Israel now under missile attacks are very concerned not so much about their own lives but the death of Israel’s young soldiers.

The world’s attitude to Israel is drastically different than in past wars, and cannot be ignored in today’s global economy. Israel can not survive economically without free global commerce, and a great amount of money is needed to fight a war and maintain a strong military- (as I discussed in details in a previous letter to you). In previous wars much of Europe was supportive of Israel; it now opposes Israel on all occasions. It is excellent that the US is now very supportive publicly but is not giving Israel a free hand; it pressured it many times less than a year ago to the detriment of Israel’s security in Gaza. Secretary Rice forced Israel to open wide the Egyptian/Gaza border allowing missile flow to terrorists. I hope she learned her lesson. We don’t know what pressure is being exerted now under the surface.

We should not jump every time we hear accusations of Israel, it is a standard practice. We also have to learn to accept, sadly, Israeli casualties. Wars cause casualties of civilians and military on both sides.
Clearly there is a wide difference between collateral Lebanese civilian casualties that Hezbollah caused by hiding among them, and Israeli civilian casualties that Hezbollah missiles are causing.
The Israeli public is solidly behind this war. I talked to Israelis that in the past were against all Israeli military actions; they are now fully behind it and ask for more aggressive attacks to eradicate Hezbollah "and teach the Arabs once and for all" to leave Israel alone. Even previous "peace activists" in the North understand now first hand what Arab aggression is like and are fully behind this war. When it affects their security, like most people, they wake up to reality.
Israeli civilian casualties are much lower because Israelis were always prepared for war. Every home, every apartment building has a solid bomb shelter.

The famous accusation that Israel caused the death of many women and children in Qana is misleading at least. First the number was double the actual count, second, if these civilians died in Israeli counter attack Hezbollah caused them by hiding and firing from around their apartment building. Even with guided missile the swiftness and dangers of war do not give the time to be sure each target in enemy territory is fully empty of civilians. It is simply impossible to prevent civilian deaths. There is considerable doubt that the Israeli caused these casualties, they seem to have been staged by bringing corpses from other locations to fake another "Israeli massacre".
Click or Google this address to see detail analysis of the Qana misinformation:
http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/188571.php

The world is so complex now that we should expect the unexpected! Prepare for events beyond our willingness to expect and to tolerate. We also must grasp that the results could be NOT what we wished for.

Matania

I have been tenting in Teton National Park during the current Hezbollah attacks on Israel. I plan to write some evalution of the situation soon.
(See link to pictures of Israel below.)

1. However, let me just say a few words now:
Some of the media coverage of Hezbollah relentless rocket attacks on Israel would be considered treason if it was covering the Nazis Blitz on London. Poor Germans, they are being attacked by powerful England without regard to the life of innocent German civilians.

This is the first time since WWII that an independent nation is attacked by rockets day after day, week after week from another state, and the "victims" in the eyes of the media are the Lebanese who support Hezbollah. Israel does not want to kill civilians and sacrificed many soldiers' lives to minimize Arab casualties, but it can not prevent civilian casualties when Hezbollah is shooting rockets from populated areas, as evident by video coverage. Even the UN Human Rights representative in Lebanon was outraged by Hezbollah use of civilian coverage and blamed them for many Lebanese civilian casualties.

Lebanese civilians were warned by radio and leaflets several times to evacuate Hezbollah zones and allow Israel to diminish daily rocket attacks that injured 2,000 Israeli civilians, killed many, forcing one million Israelis to shelters, and driving a quarter of a million to move to safer areas.

2. The following pps presentation shows beautiful Israeli communities that have been attacked by Hezbollah. These are beautiful pictures before any attacks. This is what they are trying to destroy.

http://www.jerusalemonline.co.il/SupportIDF/SupportIDF.html