The "Right" to Total War That Israel Reserves for Itself

Israeli and American government officials have shown no sympathy for Lebanese citizens caught in the crossfire between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces.

The thinking has been that if Lebanese citizens tolerate and accept the presence of Hezbollah in their midst, then they should expect the worst. If Lebanese women and children are willing to live among "outlaws" and "terrorists", they should be prepared to die among them, according to this worldview.

On the other hand, if Israeli people are hit by retaliatory attacks by Hezbollah, they are purely innocent victims, as innocent as the driven snow.

In short, Israel has reserved right to practice total war against its enemies, and its enemies are usually made that way because they are first Israel’s victims.

Israel reserves the right to victimize any Arabs it chooses, but if the victims choose to retaliate or to defend themselves, then they become "terrorists" and deserve annihilation, along with their kith and kin, their towns and their schools, their hospitals and their infrastructure.

Unfortunately for Israel, if Arabs were to unite, combine their wealth and their resolve, and to mass their resistance according to the same formula Israel has reserved for itself, the results cannot be good for Israel.

There are too many Arabs for Israel to kill off. Israel is geographically small and vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated and powerful missiles and other weapons being provided to its victims by their kith and kin and allies.

Israel can no longer bully the Arab world with impunity. The resistance will only increase and Israel will ultimately have to sue for peace or live the miserable life it has inflicted on its own victims.