War

What is war? When is war necessary? What makes a conflict a "war?"

A number of years ago Iran was taken over by a group of Islamic extremists. They kidnapped Americans and held them for nearly a year.

Over the years Iran decided to begin to sponsor terrorists all over the world, most notably a group called Hezbollah centered in Lebanon.

Recently, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power. Ahmadinejad believes himself to be a leader that is capable of bringing about the return of the "12th Imam," a Muslim religious figure that will, according to legend, bring about a worldwide Muslim state. He has sent a declaration of war to the United States already; a request for the American people to convert to Islam.

Ahmadinejad has recently demanded and promised that Israel will be "wiped off the map." He held a conference with the leaders of many Islamic countries in the middle east this week, claiming that Muslims and Muslim nations should work to "remove" the "Zionist regime."

Iran is currently working feverishly to develop nuclear weapons, in stark contrast to the will of civilised nations, the world community, and even the United Nations. (Also, isn't it ironic that the UN security council can push through a resolution to condemn Israel for defending itself in days - vetoed by John Bolton-, and 10 days after North Korea launches ballistic missiles they do nothing?)

This week, the Iranian-supported terrorists of Hezbollah launched an attack upon Israel through Lebanon. Even Iranian soldiers and Iranian-built surface to surface missiles were used in the attack. Two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped, and over 700 rockets were launched into Israel, and struck as far into Israel as Haifa.

These are not attacks to recover territory. These are not attacks motivated by a desire to achieve new territory. These are attacks, sponsored by Iran, to wipe out the Jewish people and the Israeli state.

Israel is at war. And it is in a war that has been going on since 1948. A war sponsored by Muslim nations in an attempt to obliterate their democracy. Israel has every right, and the obligation, to defend herself and destroy the terrorists that fire rockets into neighborhoods and send suicide bombers into coffee shops. It's clear that if Israel allowed these attacks to go uncontested, they would open themselves up to further attacks (as have already happened.)

Indeed, if you hear someone whining about how evil Israel is, consider Mexican soldiers attacking national guardsmen across the Rio Grande and abducting Americans into Mexico. Would we sit by and ponder the failure of our foreign policy? I doubt it.

Finally, for those of you who doubt this is war I ask - what will it take? Consider this: Iran is actively developing nuclear weapons. No amount of diplomacy is going to stop them. They'll just lie through their teeth and keep on going. And what's wrong with Iran with nukes? Why should that cause me to consider the possibility of war?

If Iran finishes their nuclear program, it is unlikely that they will fire a ballistic missile at Israel. It is more likely that they will loan a nuclear weapon to their pals in Hezbollah, and have them deploy it. So the question is - should we attack Iran now, or when we honor our defense agreement with Israel when Tel Aviv becomes a smoking crater?

Will we ever get to World War III? I hope not, but if we do I know who we will be fighting.