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** Defeating Hezbollah Will Strengthen the West ([link removed])
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by Con Coughlin • October 1, 2024 at 5:00 am
* An Israeli victory against Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon is vital to guaranteeing the security of the entire Western alliance. It will send a clear signal to Iran -- Hezbollah's paymasters -- that the ayatollahs' unremitting campaign against the West and its allies is ultimately doomed to failure.
* [A]n estimated 90,000 Israelis being forced to flee their homes, leaving large swathes of northern Israel deserted. Hezbollah has said that those Israelis will not be able to return to their homes, raising concerns that Hezbollah, which had been planning to invade northern Israel, might also be planning to occupy it.
* [United Nations Secretary-General António] Guterres, referring to Israel, announced that the war "did not happen in a vacuum." Ironically, it is Guterres himself who is responsible for creating the non-vacuum that ignited the situation. According to UN Security Resolution 1701, it was the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, under the direction of Guterres, that was tasked with "maintaining security and stability throughout south Lebanon...." It didn't.
* Since the IDF launched its military campaign against Hezbollah, Israel has faced the usual barrage of criticism over civilian casualties.
* The reality, though, is that the group most responsible for causing casualties is Hezbollah which, like its Iranian-backed ally Hamas in Gaza, has no qualms about putting innocent Lebanese civilians in harm's way.
* Israel's offensive to destroy Hezbollah, therefore, is very much in the West's interests in terms of safeguarding its future security, a consideration Western leaders should take on board when seeking to address the deepening crisis in the Middle East.

Israel's offensive to destroy Hezbollah is very much in the West's interests in terms of safeguarding its future security, a consideration Western leaders should take on board when seeking to address the deepening crisis in the Middle East. Pictured: An apartment used by Hezbollah terrorists after it was hit by a pinpoint Israeli airstrike, on September 30, 2024 in Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

The Israeli military campaign against Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists is not just an exercise in safeguarding Israel from suffering further bombardment from tens of thousands of missiles and attack drones.

An Israeli victory against Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon is vital to guaranteeing the security of the entire Western alliance. It will send a clear signal to Iran -- Hezbollah's paymasters -- that the ayatollahs' unremitting campaign against the West and its allies is ultimately doomed to failure.

It is certainly a consideration world leaders must take on board as they attempt to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, one that would undoubtedly be to the Iranian-backed terror group's advantage.

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