North Star Writers Group

Once again, the Middle East is on the brink. Israel and its enemies--Hamas, Hezbollah and their sponsor nations Syria and Iran--are as close to regional war as we've seen since the Yom Kippur War of 1973. It would be naive indeed to think that this couldn't quickly grow into something much larger, what with Iran's toying with nuclear weaponry. (One can pose a quite convincing theory that Hezbollah's murder of eight and capture of two Israeli soldiers was done solely to provoke a response, so that Iran would have grounds to fire whatever nukes they may have.)

But even more frightening than that prospect is the refusal of the rest of the world to see the situation for what it is and speak the truth accordingly. As much as we may blame either side (or both) in the Israeli/Palestinian situation, a world that continues to shepherd lies for the sake of convenience is just as culpable. The only thing more sad than the delusions under which the various parties involved (UN, EU, NATO, Russia, China, US, France, etc.) continue to labor is the utter predictability of their words and deeds.

Let's get a few truths straight once and for all:

• The Arab world, the Palestinians foremost, does not want peace with Israel. They never have and they never will. The only thing they want is Israel annihilated off the face of planet Earth. Every bit of their behavior shows this – from electing a terrorist group to power, to never recognizing Israel or removing the call for its destruction from its charter, to endless suicide bombings. There isn't a single thing that they have said or done that indicates anything else.

• As such, Israel has no choice but to defend itself by whatever means it deems necessary. Israel has tried to give its enemies what it claimed to want by pulling out of the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, but it only whetted their appetite for more. This conflict should demonstrate quite clearly once and for all that land-for-peace is a crock, since their "partner" in the deal never wanted either one.

• The moral backwardness of the U.N. (Useless Nations) and its Security Council members would be more unnerving if it weren't so laughable. France (insert joke here) puts up a resolution condemning Israel (for what, being a target?), which the U.S. is forced to veto (though in the most cowering and soft-spoken way possible), and Russia and China sabre-rattle their vetoes to stop anything more geared toward reality (and distract from whatever covert dealings they have with Iran, among others). While the other nations are pretty much lost causes, it's dismaying to see the U.S. soft-peddling this so much. Even President Bush was belated and somewhat mealy-mouthed in saying the utterly obvious – that Israel had a right to self-defense, which he supports. (What, you mean they're not supposed to just roll over and let themselves be crushed?)

• Finally, the media's portrayals and outright lies about the situation are not helping. Have you ever heard them distinguish between terrorists attacking only civilians and Israel attacking either military targets or terrorist leaders? One side tries its level best to avoid civilians wherever possible, the other blatantly targets civilians alone, and the media equates the two. One side is a democracy amid a sea of dictatorships, the other a terrorist state – but the media equates the two. The list goes on and on.

What the world should be doing is condemning a terrorist state, Palestine, whose entire existence has been dedicated to nothing but murder and destruction, and acknowledging that Israel is well within its rights to wage war against that enemy, to the point of utterly defeating them should they refuse to surrender at any point prior. Furthermore, since Palestine has proven that the only thing it would do (and has done) with the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon and the West Bank is use them as attack positions, Israel ought to reoccupy them all. (Once Syria and Hezbollah are driven out of Lebanon, and the Lebanese people can finally control their own fate, then that much can be possibly re-considered.) Lastly, since Hamas and Hezbollah are proxies for Syria and Iran, they are fair targets also. If one is going to take out the puppets, one must take out the puppetmasters

And finally, this should end completely the ridiculous fantasy that Iran can be trusted to have nuclear weapons in any capacity. Any possibility that they can wipe out Israel in a single stroke must be met with force before it can happen. The old Cold War doctrine of mutually assured destruction isn't going to work with Iran. Heck, they'd probably welcome it. Certainly their crazed head of state Ahmadinejad would seem to.

Just as an addict must first admit the truth of having a problem before he can solve it, so too must the world admit some plain truths before it can solve its toughest problem. But it would seem that the powers-that-be would prefer to turn everything on its head, and blame Israel for the dastardly "crimes" of existing and defending itself. And the one nation I would expect to stand athwart it all, boldly speak the truth and act upon that truth if it's determined to be necessary – the United States – is only doing the absolute minimum it has to.

Apparently, the world is still chin-deep in denial, and I'm not talking about the river in Egypt. The world may be in for one heck of a rude awakening as a result.

Click here to talk to our writers and editors about this column and others in our discussion forum.

To e-mail feedback about this column, click here. If you enjoy this writer's work, please contact your local newspapers editors and ask them to carry it.

This is Column # DKK17. Request permission to publish here.