20060715 KDDC Why Israel must fight

Why Israel must fight
July 15th, 2006

I had missed Charles Krauthammer's column for this week until Soccer Dad reminded me to read it. It is a must read for anyone who would like to understand Israel's reaction to the latest provocations by militant Palestinians:

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Why They Fight

By Charles Krauthammer

Friday, July 14, 2006; Page A21

Next June will mark the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War. For four decades we have been told that the cause of the anger, violence and terror against Israel is its occupation of the territories seized in that war. End the occupation and the "cycle of violence" ceases.

The problem with this claim was that before Israel came into possession of the West Bank and Gaza in the Six-Day War, every Arab state had rejected Israel's right to exist and declared Israel's pre-1967 borders -- now deemed sacred -- to be nothing more than the armistice lines suspending, and not ending, the 1948-49 war to exterminate Israel.

Read the rest here.

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