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Friday, February 16, 2018
Weekly Commentary: Secretary of State Tillerson's Cavalier Attitude Regarding Israel's Security

Weekly Commentary: Secretary of State Tillerson's Cavalier Attitude
Regarding Israel's Security
Dr. Aaron Lerner 16 February 2018

I am shocked by the cavalier attitude towards Israel's security exhibited in
the remarks of U.S. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson at his press
conference yesterday in Beirut.

First the set-up:

#1. Hizballah, in gross violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, has
well over a hundred thousand missiles deployed in Southern Lebanon.

#2. Hizballah makes it very clear that they intend to attack the Jewish
State with these over a hundred thousand missiles.

#3. Hizballah also make it clear that they intend to invade Israel with
ground forces.

#4. Israel has engaged in a massive project to dramatically reduce the
ability of Hizballah to invade Israel with ground forces.

#5. This activity has included huge earthworks projects to change the
topography of the Lebanon-Israel border so that it is considerably less
amenable to invasion from Lebanon.

#6. At this stage the project also includes the erection of a tall barrier
that would make a ground invasion harder to execute while at the same time
breaking the line of sight between Hizballah observation positions and
Israeli targets of interest near the border.

Now here is what Secretary of State Tillerson has to say about the missiles:
"Hizballah’s actions and its growing arsenal bring unwanted and unhelpful
scrutiny on Lebanon."

OK. So it isn't good PR for Lebanon.

But what does Secretary of State Tillerson say Hizballah should DO with
their "growing arsenal" in south Lebanon?

"Hizballah...should cease its activities abroad in order to help reduce
tensions in the region."

Oops.

That's not what I asked.

I asked what does Secretary of State Tillerson say Hizballah should DO with
their "growing arsenal" in south Lebanon?

That's right.

Secretary of State Tillerson notes that the "growing arsenal" brings
"scrutiny on Lebanon". But this diplomat's OPERATIVE demand only relates to
the activities of Hizballah "ABROAD".

Now let's turn to Israel's barrier construction project.

The sooner that this barrier is completed the sooner it will be dramatically
more difficult for Hizballah to invade Israel.

And the sooner it is dramatically more difficult for Hizballah to invade
Israel the sooner the odds that Hizballah should ever try to invade Israel
plummets.

And reducing the odds that Hizballah should ever try to invade Israel should
most certainly promise a CALMER situation.

And yet, instead of supporting this critical Israeli security project - or
at least being neutral - Secretary of State Tillerson relates to the barrier
stripped of its context.

"We’ve urged the Israelis to also be constructive in these discussions and
let’s get the border agreed first, and then people can think about if they
need a security wall or not at that point."

Again: Hizballah has made it clear that it will invade Israel IMMEDIATELY
the moment a large scale conflict breaks out.

Israel is rushing to build a barrier to PREVENT this invasion.

And Secretary of State Tillerson suggests that Israel should INDEFINITELY
postpone taking action to prevent an invasion.

A double blow:

#1. A call on Hizballah to stop activities ONLY outside of Lebanon -
their"growing arsenal" inside Lebanon may be bad PR, but there is no call to
remove this illegal "arsenal" from Lebanon.

#2. A call on Israel to indefinitely postpone vital security measures whose
implementation promises to dramatically reduce the scope of any future
conflict.

What does Secretary of State Tillerson's boss have to say about this?
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

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