Terrorism

Where do I begin. Maybe I should start with a definition. So many of the groups that I would consider terrorists, these days, are being called “militants” by the media. For me terrorists are non-state actors violently attacking unarmed civilians, and even state actors, in the name of some cause they are promoting. Some groups may actually look and act like armies with territorial ambitions to control spaces where they can act out a program.  

At their heart , terrorists have no regard for anyone that may stand in their way. They often have loyalty only to an idea and the losses they sustain in carrying out their program seem unimportant to their leadership. State actors by contrast are usually held to a code of conduct.

My particular focus is on the many Islamic groups that are motivated by messianic aims related to establishing a world-wide Caliphate of one form or another. For the uninformed , the  rivalry within this movement between Sunnis and Shi-ites complicates the picture but there are terrorist groups with similar agendas in both groups. The reason for my focus is that both these groups unite in their opposition to the existence of the Jewish state of Israel

More recently, some of the countries with Sunni rulers in control have been facing violence, and threats of violence, from groups motivated by the Shi-ite persuasion, The Shi-ites in control in Iran have mobilized a number of groups that have acted against the interests and stability of the Sunni Arab nations. These countries see Israel as a potential ally.

More publicly, groups financed by Iran, like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and groups in IRAQ and Syria, have been carrying on a campaign of violence against Israel. Not content with missiles, etc., The attack on Israel by Hamas from Gaza, accompanied by expanded  missile attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon,  has led to an armed response on the ground by Israel .

Israel has degraded terrorist forces in Gaza, and continuing to do so there. It still will take some time. The fate of the hostages remains in the balance. Hamas know they are the only thing preventing massive destruction to remove the terrorists..

One important result of the October 7^th attack is that Israel again has control of the Philadelphia corridor. When Israel last withdrew from Gaza, they kept the corridor. Israel withdrew from there under U.S. pressure.. That will not happen again after the Hamas experience.

Israel has cut off the source of Hamas weaponry and supplies from Egypt in Rafah. The role of Egypt in the arming and supplying of Hamas has become clear.

Israel now has proof that Hezbollah had been planning to duplicate the Hamas massacre of October 7/23 in the north. (Israel moved 80,000 residents from northern Israel to prevent a repeat there.) Proportionate to population, the loss suffered by Israel on October 7^th, was many  times greater than the loss suffered by the U.S . on 9/11

Israel is now seeking to dismantle the stranglehold that Iran’s Hezbollah , what the Canadian CBC calls “militants,”) have on Lebanon. Throughout that country the Israelis are searching out weapons stores and missile launchers, and senior leadership, where intelligence can locate them.  It has warned the civilian population to avoid areas where Hezbollah terrorists and their leaders congregate, and where they store their military assets. Heavy airborne strikes have been occurring in Lebanon’s major cities.

(Many terrorist leaders and enablers were removed by Israel through Israel having their phones and beeper exploded through an intelligence coup.)

In southern Lebanon Israel soldiers on the ground have been going from village to village destroying Hezbollah installations after evacuating civilians .It remains to be seen how long this occupation will last. The last time Israel was there they withdrew after a UN force was dispatched to ensure Hezbollah would not return.

 The UN force is still there but they did not attempt, nor did they accomplish, what they were sent to do. Obviously Israel cannot rely on the UN to ensure that the residents of northern Israel can be safe.

In Israel proper, in Judea and Samaria, Hamas terrorist have been active with Iranian arms and weapons smuggled in from Jordan. Hamas terrorists are being rooted out. Israel suffers losses to terrorism each and every day.

The war against  Iranian terrorist proxies continues .We await the Israeli defensive strike against Iran after the Iranian missile barrage about one month ago.

The trauma of October 7th, relative to a possible independent Palestinian entity, will haunt Israelis forever. It provide further proof for rational people , if such is necessary, of the incompatability of such with a safe and secure Israel..