I do not say this as a foreigner, cavalier in my estimation of the dangers that surround you.
Instead, I say it as an ally, in spite of the terrifying predators who threaten all free nations, especially Israel.
My country is not ignorant, nor are we indifferent to your struggle. We know our victory in the war on terror depends on Israel’s survival.
And we know Israel’s survival depends on the willingness of free nations – especially our own – to stand by all endangered democracies in their time of need.
We hear your voice cry out in the desert, and we will never leave your side.
Because freedom and terrorism cannot coexist. Terrorism cannot be negotiated away or pacified. Terrorism will either destroy free nations, or free nations will destroy it.
These are the terms Providence has put before the United States, Israel, and the rest of the civilized world.
They are stark, and they are final.
Those who call this world-view ‘simplistic’ are more than welcome to share their ‘sophisticated’ theories at any number of international debating clubs.
But while they do, free nations of courage will fight and win this war.
Israel’s liberation from Palestinian terror is an essential component of that victory. And it’s a liberation we are determined to secure – not merely a paper-thin cease-fire.
False security is no security, and murderers who take 90-day vacations are still murderers.
An immediate and total end to Palestinian terrorism is not a concession the civilized world asks of the Palestinian Authority to advance the peace process. It is a prerequisite to the Palestinian Authority’s invitation to it.
In the United States, we have two chambers in our national legislature: the House of Representatives, where I serve, and the Senate. But the voice of the people resides in the House.
And one month ago, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution – which I was proud to co-author – that states unequivocally the position of that body.
That resolution reads in part:
“Whereas Israel has no choice but to use its own measures to fight terrorism if the Palestinians are unwilling to do so….Therefore be it resolved that the House of Representatives recognizes and respects Israel’s right to fight terrorism and acknowledges Israel’s fight against terrorism as part of the global war on terrorism.”
This echoes years of continuous support for Israel in Congress, where we remain committed to Israel’s strength, security, and qualitative military superiority.
In short, it is the position of the people of the United States, as expressed by their representatives in Congress, that Israel’s fight is our fight.
And so shall it be until the last terrorist on earth is in a cell or a cemetery.
This war we fight – this war on terror the United States shares with free nations, like Israel, around the world – we fight for this reason: to establish and secure a community of nations safe to be free, and free to be prosperous.
It’s the same reason we fought Nazism, fascism, and Communism: the liberation of all mankind from oppression.
Terrorism, like its tyrannical forebears, is born of the idea that with enough guns, enough fear, and enough violence, human power can control the human spirit.
That through brute force, powerful men can erase the imprint of the Almighty etched into the souls of all His children.
That through domination of the weak, in the words of the serpent, “Ye shall be as gods.”
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a lie.
It was a lie at Auschwitz. It was a lie in the Gulag. It was a lie behind the Iron Curtain. It was a lie in Kabul and Baghdad. And today, it remains a lie in Beijing, and Havana, and Tehran, and Pyongyang, and Damascus and Ramallah.
