Lebanese Government Has No Legitimacy
Dear Editor:
President Bush is urging Israel to preserve the fragile government of Lebanon, which was recently chosen in democratic elections supported by Bush himself. But Israel should do exactly the opposite.
Hezbollah, the Iran-sponsored Islamic terror group now under attack by Israel in Lebanon, is part of the Lebanese government. Twenty-three of Hezbollah’s members were elected to parliament, and two of its members were given cabinet positions.
A government that tolerates the operations of a terror group within its country, that does nothing to stop it from launching rockets on its neighbor’s cities, and that further allows its presence in the parliament and cabinet, has no legitimacy at all.
If the Lebanese are ever to have a legitimate government and lasting peace with Israel, they will have to show that they, like Israel, will not tolerate Hezbollah any longer.
Regards,
David Holcberg
There Is No Need for an Endless Global Conflict
Dear Editor:
Islamic totalitarians have explicitly stated their goal: to forcibly impose Islamic law around the world. To succeed, they will continue to attack those parts of the world that oppose their “divine mission.” The United States, Israel, Canada, England, India, and any other country that places the least bit of value on freedom and progress, will continue to be targets.
The freer nations need to recognize the real nature of this enemy: an ideology that demands complete submission to Allah, either voluntarily or at the point of a knife. Do you wait for the knife to slit your throat or do you fight back and defend yourself?
The combined military strength of the freer countries is more than enough to eliminate decisively and definitively the assorted collection of murderous terrorists and the governments that support them financially or ideologically. There is no need for an endless global conflict. What there is a need for is a recognition that those of us living in freer countries have the right to take any necessary actions to defend ourselves–and that our lives are at stake.
Regards,
Debi Ghate
