Insight on Israel and the Middle East

News is breaking hourly in Israel and the Middle East in general and it's always good to have an inside source. One of my favorite "go to" guys on the subject of Israel...past, present and future, is JOEL C. ROSENBERG.

He delineates some of the mistakes Israel has made in the recent past which have lead to the terror attacks and subsequent acts of war:

In the spring of 2000, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak withdrew his country's military forces from southern Lebanon. This was not part of a negotiated peace treaty with the government of Lebanon, or Syria, or any other sovereign state. Instead, it was a unilateral Israeli move "to bring about an end to the on-going terrorism and confrontation on the northern border, and to facilitate further progress in the peace process," according to a statement by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time. Sadly, just the opposite has occurred. The radical Islamic group Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, saw Israel's withdrawal as a sign of weakness and surrender in the War on Terror. They subsequently built up their terrorist forces in southern Lebanon and waited for the right moment to strike. And strike they now have.

In the summer of 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew his country's military forces from Gaza. Again, this was not part of a negotiated peace treaty with the Palestinian leadership. It was instead a unilateral move intended to bring about peace. But more terrorism -- not less -- has resulted.

Now, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank and divide Jerusalem, effectively handing sovereignty over to Hamas. This would be a far more disastrous mistake. It will make a bad situation that much worse because it, too, will be perceived by terrorist groups and terrorist states as acts of weakness and surrender, not wisdom and peace. It will embolden Hamas and her allies. It will put deadly rockets within range of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Ben Gurion International Airport. It will allow Hamas to create a state with formal military alliances with Iran and Syria. And it could destabilize Jordan and Egypt in the process.

Now is not the time to unilaterally withdraw from anything. Now is the time for Israel to crush Hamas and Hezbollah. And now is the time for the U.S. to do everything in our power to help -- including vigorously defending Israel's acts of self-defense at the U.N. and the G8 Summit. Israel is a vital ally in the War on Terror. Her victory will be ours as well.

In other words, so much for the concept of "Peace for land." Far too often the failed policies of appeasement aren't realized until war results and people have died. In this current conflict, no, war, a victory must take place. It's too late for appeasement. Let's hope Israel is the victor as she has been in the 7 previous wars.