The U.S. Owes Israel $5 Million
By Gil Troy, published in The Jerusalem Post, The Wall Street Journal.
Israel killed Fuad Shukr, a leader of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council who was guilty of murdering hundreds of Americans as well as Israelis. Shukr masterminded a recent strike that killed a dozen children in Northern Israel. In 1983 he orchestrated the infamous Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. servicemen. The State Department subsequently offered a $5 million reward for information on him and listed him as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” Years of inaction followed—until now. America should cut Israel a $5 million check.
After Shukr’s death, Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that “Israel has a right to defend itself against a terror organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is.” But she added: “All of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution.”
Her compulsion to compromise reflects America’s mixed messaging regarding Islamic terrorism, dating back to Shukr’s 1983 massacre. At the time President Ronald Reagan feared escalation in the Middle East. He called the massacre “despicable” but didn’t retaliate. A few months later, he ordered a “redeployment” of 1,400 Marines from Beirut to U.S. Navy ships offshore. Though technically not a withdrawal, Reagan’s action sent a message of weakness.
This passivity encouraged the killers. A now-declassified Central Intelligence Agency report observed that “international terrorists had a banner year in 1985,” carrying out 784 incidents, a 30% increase from 1984. Middle East terrorism fueled that surge.
The mounting violence drove Reagan to retaliate. In 1985 Palestinian terrorists hijacked an Italian cruise ship, taking hostage hundreds of passengers and murdering an American. After escaping to Egypt, the hijackers flew to Tunisia, anticipating a hero’s welcome. Reagan authorized four Navy F-14s to intercept the jet, warning, “You can run, but you can’t hide.”
In 1986 America launched airstrikes against Libya after terrorists with Libyan ties attacked a West Berlin disco that American soldiers frequented. After the raid, French President François Mitterrand complained, “I don’t believe that you stop terrorism by killing 150 Libyans who have done nothing.” Yet, thereafter, Moammar Gadhafi seldom confronted America directly.
A confidential 1986 Central Intelligence Agency assessment attributed diminishing jihadiist terrorism to the West’s “unprecedented military, diplomatic, and economic retaliatory measures.” The next year’s assessment concluded that “enhanced” counterterrorism operations “kept terrorists off balance.”
These findings may offend the conflict-averse Western mind. But that doesn’t change the truth: Negotiating with jihadists telegraphs weakness. Americans should stop demanding cease-fires and trying to mollify the perpetrators of terror. Only by projecting power, unifying the West behind Israel and intimidating Iran and its lackeys can the U.S. restore global stability. America owes Israel a debt of gratitude for taking the lead—plus $5 million.