OPINION:
Israel is on its own in Lebanon.
That might not be of much concern to the isolationists on the far right and left (in fact, both likely find it gladdening), but it is a major problem, not just for them but for all of Western civilization.
Here is why.
For decades, Hezbollah has been the most dangerous threat to Israel’s northern border. In just the 24 hours from June 19 to June 20, the Iran-funded Shiite terrorist group fired 147 rockets, 20 unmanned aerial vehicles and nine anti-tank missiles, Israel reported.
Incidentally, that is precisely the period when the latest U.S.-urged “ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah was supposed to have started, and just after a Hezbollah drone strike killed four Israel Defense Forces soldiers in Kfar Tebnit.
Since its founding in 1982 by Lebanese clerics, Hezbollah has essentially attacked the Jewish state nonstop. To talk about its ceasing to fire on Israel is absurd. Hezbollah was started with the express goal of destroying Israel, and it is not going to start making hummus now.
As I wrote in these pages last month, Israel’s battle with Hezbollah should be viewed as a microcosm of the global fight between democratic rule and Islamist tyranny.
It will end with one winner and zero do-overs.
Last week, the Trump administration — despite having been one of modern Israel’s best friends to date — sacrificed Israel on the altar of political expediency. The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed by President Trump and his Iranian counterpart, calls for the “permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
This ropes Israel into a deal from which it was notably shut out and then ties its hands behind its back.
Israeli and Lebanese officials are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Washington for “peace” discussions.
“Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Mr. Trump said at the Group of Seven summit last week in France. He later added, “I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah.”
Yet Israel would have already neutralized the Hezbollah threat if the U.S. administration had not interfered, a senior Israeli security official said recently. Syria, run by a former jihadi who has been “reformed” for all of 17 months, has said repeatedly that it will not become involved in Lebanese “affairs.”
Americans are fed up with high gas prices, and Mr. Trump seems to be getting antsy about the November midterm elections. Perhaps the administration believes that making Israel the fall guy in the memorandum of understanding and producing a nicely wrapped-up end to a foreign engagement he never really explained to American voters could help reverse (or at least stabilize) tumbling poll numbers.
Yet this problem is far more important than Mr. Trump’s popularity or the upcoming elections.
The ultimate goal of Islamist terrorism is the restoration of the Muslim caliphate. This time, the aim is to take it worldwide.
The war that Israel wages in Lebanon — alone, as the U.S. has made clear — provides us with a window into the larger, indefatigable terrorist march toward this objective, if only we are willing to peek in.
Terrorists, including the regime in Tehran, do not negotiate. To them, ceasefires mean nothing, as Hezbollah has shown repeatedly in Lebanon. A signature on a deal is worth less than the paper it is printed on. Lying is encouraged when dealing with the enemy.
No matter how “rational” and smart Mr. Trump finds them, Iran’s leaders are our enemies. For the regime, nothing less than total domination, worldwide Shariah and Islam as the planet’s sole religion will do.
The U.S. can make Israel the patsy in this latest attempt to reason with immutable evil. It has done it before, and Israel is used to going it alone.
Still, the administration should not fool itself. It has not won anything.
• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor for The Washington Times.
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