NWA LETTERS

Hatred of Israel causes violence

Professor Art Hobson’s column, “Radical faith does harm,” (Jan. 27) is half right. However, leaving aside his ongoing insinuations of equivalence between devout Christianity and Islamic radicalism, I don’t see how he gets some of his assertions. He said, “U.S. violence in the Mid-East makes everything worse.” But before we had American military presence, Israel’s Arab Muslim “neighbors” attacked Israel three times with intentions of destroying the nation. Nearly all the Arab Muslim nations’ charters call for Israel’s destruction — that is every Jewish man, woman and child.

In 1983 President Reagan, responding to the war between Israel and the Hezbollah Muslim terrorists, sent Marines with unloaded weapons into Lebanon to act as peacekeepers after Israel in self-defense invaded Lebanon and captured Beirut. For their peacekeeping effort Islamic suicide bombers murdered 300 U. S. Marines.

In 1990 Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, desperate to boost his oil revenue, invaded and absorbed its virtually defenseless neighbor Kuwait. The useless United Nations condemned the invasion and extensive diplomatic negotiations followed. Saddam refused to comply with international diplomatic appeals and demands to leave Kuwait. Saudi Arabia, threatened by Iraq, requested the U.S. to protect them by ousting Saddam from Kuwait. After Congress authorized military action, we restored Kuwaiti independence and ended Saddam’s ambitions for suzerainty in the Middle East.

Hobson thinks we can make peace with “food, medicine, and education.” Before and after U.S. military presence in the Mid-East we have given more foreign aid without strings attached than anybody can count to fund all these fine-sounding goals, but we gained neither friends nor peace for the money. American private citizens and our government have spent more of our resources to help other nations and people than any nation in history. If American charity were the answer, we would already have worldwide utopia.

He asserted that we fervently support Israel’s policies against Palestinians. Presidents Bush and Obama have both opposed Israel’s right and practice of building houses for their people. Israel is a small nation that has sought peace with its Muslim neighbors since its founding in 1948. The land Israel gained since independence was gained because they defeated Muslim nations that attacked them three times. Israel has repeatedly offered land for peace with the terroristic Muslim groups. Every time their enemies walked away from generous offers because they were not willing to acknowledge Israel’s national existence and renounce their fanatical charters calling for Israel’s destruction. Israel unilaterally turned Gaza over to their Palestinian enemies (immediately the Palestinians destroyed all the capital improvements Israelis had put there) . By Israel’s agreement Muslims govern Samaria. Does Hobson propose we abandon our last dependable ally in the Middle East to the tender mercies of their fanatical Muslim neighbors?

The fault is not ours or Israel’s. The cause of this generation’s most deadly conflict is Islam’s hatred of Israel and the Western World. We won’t have peace with Islam until we defeat radical Islam. Unfortunately our leaders are too much in delusion with political correctness to do it. Or else they don’t care.

GERALD HOLLAND

Bella Vista

[email protected]

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