For a considerable period, the State Department has claimed that the far-flung terrorist cells across the globe operate independently without a clear coordinated strategy other, of course, than anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism. Henry Crumpton, the State Department counterterrorism coordinator, said that Iran, for example, cannot force Hezbollah to change its policy.
Based on events as they are now unfolding in the Middle East, it is time to evaluate that assumption. Evidence suggests that the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and the killing of others at checkpoints was part of a well-planned and coordinated attack against Israel organized at least five months ago by Hezbollah and Hamas with the endorsement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the probable complicity of the Syrian government.
The recent meetings in Damascus and Tehran with representation from all of the terrorist groups was a clear sign of careful planning. Osama Hamdane, a Hamas leader in Lebanon, confirmed the coordinated tactics between Hezbollah and Hamas. And Sheik Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, declared weeks ago that “the enemy is stuck between Gaza and Lebanon and we are preparing unexpected surprises for him.” He also indicated that the Lebanese government was informed of the abduction plan.
Despite a truce that had been agreed to by all parties inside and outside of Lebanon’s government, including Hezbollah, and confirmed in U.N. Resolution 1559, “the gates of hell have been opened.” Hezbollah leadership lied to the Lebanese and lied to the world indicating peaceful overtures on the one hand and planning for war with the other.
Moreover, dissimulation also characterized the new Hamas government in the Palestinian territory. Its hostility to Israel never abated, but there was the soothing talk of hudna, a period of peace. Yet all along, Hamas was conspiring with Hezbollah to attack Israel armed, financed and fortified by Iran and Syria.
If there was ever any doubt, it is now patently obvious that terrorists can never be trusted. They regard words as weapons. Their instinct and basic motivation is violence, whatever they may say for diplomatic reasons.
It is also increasingly obvious that Iran is terrorism central. The C802 missile that hit an Israeli warship, Ahi Hanit, off the Lebanese coast, is a Chinese-built radar-guided shore-to-ship missile with a range of 80 miles, modified by the Iranians and given to Hezbollah. In fact, as one military source noted, “Hezbollah has everything Iran has,” a claim that has introduced a dramatic escalation scenario into the present battle conditions.
Though the immediate Israeli military objective is to create a cordon sanitaire in southern Lebanon with sufficient strategic depth to offset missile attacks, it is clear that Syria and Iran cannot be left off the hook if some kind of peaceful settlement is to be achieved. After all, Ahmadinejad has called for the elimination of Israel and these recent attacks are fomented in the palaces of Tehran and Damascus. Just who will monitor and preserve this no man’s land, remains to be seen. But from Israel’s perspective, Hezbollah can not have missile sites fortified in this area, or anywhere else in Lebanon for that matter.
To his credit, President Bush seems to recognize what the State Department has not. He has made it clear that Israel has the right to defend itself. And while he has called for “restraint” — an ambiguous word considering the circumstances — he has not told the Israeli government what the U.S. would consider the tactical limits to be.
There is no doubt that Hezbollah has showed its hand. The attack on Israel has been carefully coordinated, and we should not suffer from illusions about atomized enemies. Terrorist cells may operate independently, but all too often they work together; in fact, all too often their sponsors reside in Tehran and Damascus.
Herbert London is president of Hudson Institute and professor emeritus of New York University. He is the author of “Decade of Denial.”
