The danger to Israel comes not from any unwillingness of its citizens to fight. They are willing to fight the enemy, and Israel is willing to suffer the deaths of its young in battle to preserve its values and its very existence. But the West appears – in many parts of Europe in particular – to have lost its self-confidence and willingness to stand and fight an enemy willing to continue the war until victory is achieved and their goals met.
When one side loses its resolve to fight and win and the other retains its resolve, the side that has lost its courage will look for ways to appease and entice the enemy to bring the war to a conclusion. If the enemy says, understanding the weakness, “Give us the Sudetenland” and later says “Give us all of Czechoslovakia,” such demands, as we know from history, will be met.
Bin Laden, recognizing the willingness of some in the West to give up Israel, in two recent messages has emphasized his demand that Israel be delivered to the jihadists. In fact, in most prior bin Laden threats, Palestine and Israel were rarely mentioned. Bin Laden believes that with war-weariness rising in the U.S. and Europe, and anti-Semitism escalating in Europe, there are fertile grounds to make Israel the new Czechoslovakia.
The reason I believe history will redeem President Bush is that he is one of the few leaders on the planet today who understands the larger picture. He has not lost his courage and vision of the future. He knows what calamities await the world if it engages in appeasement and deserts an ally in order to buy an illusory peace. We will recognize his worth long after he is gone.