To the Editor:
There is a definitive border between Israel and Lebanon recognized by the United Nations. This line in the sand was crossed by Hezbollah militants when abducting two Israeli soldiers. However, the Islamic fundamentalists also transgressed the fine line between right and wrong. While I agree that the Arab-Israeli situation is complex and tragic and that both peoples have been wronged many times over, it is my belief that there is always such a thing as a definitive, objective right and wrong. It is the Hezbollah militants that have consistently overstepped the boundary of moral action and unequivocally and indiscriminately used "disproportionate force." This line should not be blurred. This is especially important when you look at the recent historical events that have led to the current conflict.
Israel has demonstrated a willingness and desire for disengagement. At a heavy cost to its own people, it forcefully removed Jewish settlers from Gaza. Similarly, Israel removed its troops from southern Lebanon, knowing that such an act put a portion of its population at risk. Nobody was able to force Israel to do these things; Israel did it because it decided it was the right thing to do in the hope that one day its people would be left alone and given peace. Most of Israel desires to be left alone, in peace.
Regarding disproportionate force, Israel uses expensive sophisticated bombs to try to pinpoint exact targets. Hezbollah militants alter their missiles to add ball bearings in order to cause as much injury to civilians as possible. Israel does everything it can to avoid hitting hospitals and schools despite the fact that terrorist leaders hide amongst these buildings on purpose.
At a huge cost to its own people, Israel is forced to engage the Hezbollah militants that the weak Lebanese government is unwilling to eliminate, despite U.N. resolutions calling for such action. Israel is forced to take on an enemy sponsored by the states of Iran and Syria that respects no boundaries, either geographic or moral.
We must ask ourselves if there is ever such a thing as using too much force in defending against evil. Israel is defending something far more sacred than its borders. It is staring resolutely across the moral chasm that separates the Western world and fundamentalist Islam and is asserting the holiest of democratic proclamations: Free people, have "the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
