War With An Existential Enemy

     I strive to use words according to their exact meanings. The word existential has such a meaning: “of, relating to, or affirming existence.” Thus, an existential enemy is one whose aim is to end your existence. There can be no greater threat than such an enemy; he poses an existential threat.

     Is there a point – a defensible rationale – to negotiating with such an enemy?

     Just now, Israel has taken up arms against two existential enemies: HAMAS (Gaza strip) and Hezbollah (Lebanon). Neither of those organizations is at all coy about its aim. Both intend the destruction of Israel. Yet the Biden regime is demanding that Israel halt its operations against those enemies and “negotiate” a peace settlement. Hezbollah is in accord:

     Hezbollah supports efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, its top official said on Tuesday, marking the first time the group has publicly endorsed a truce and not conditioned it on stopping the war in Gaza.
     “We support the political efforts led by (Parliament Speaker Nabih) Berri under the banner of achieving a ceasefire. Once the ceasefire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively,” Deputy Secretery General Naim Qassem said.

     Hezbollah, which has been decimated by ingenious Israeli tactics, is asking for a cease-fire because its brass knows it’s on the ropes. So what? What would Israel gain from not destroying it that would be worth the perpetuation of the threat it represents?

     Ever since October 7, 2023, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that enough of his people had been slaughtered and that HAMAS had to be ended once and for all, HAMAS has been begging for a cease-fire. The Biden regime has been pressing Netanyahu for a cease-fire since the earliest days of Israel’s counteroffensive. But what would follow a cease-fire? Peace negotiations? To what end?

     The indispensable Robert Spencer reminds us:

     Islamic law does not envision a state of permanent peace between Muslims and non-Muslims. Instead, the Qur’an instructs Muslims to “fight them until persecution is no more and religion is all for Allah” (8:39). If Muslims must continue fighting non-Muslims until “religion is all for Allah,” that means that there is no place in Islam for the “coexistence” that the left professes to value so highly. There can be no coexistence, but only perpetual warfare, although there can be sporadic periods in which a temporary peace prevails.
     Islamic law is very clear about when these pauses in the war can go into effect. It only allows for a truce if the Muslims expect their foes to convert to Islam, or if the Muslims are weak and need to gather strength to fight later more effectively: “If Muslims are weak, a truce may be made for ten years if necessary, for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) made a truce with the Quraysh for that long, as is related by Abu Dawud… Interests that justify making a truce are such things as Muslim weakness because of lack of numbers or materiel, or the hope of an enemy becoming Muslim…” (Reliance of the Traveller, o9.16).
     This idea is founded on the Qur’an: “So do not falter and cry out for peace when you have the upper hand…” (47:35).

     HAMAS and Hezbollah both intend the elimination of Israel. If Israel can eliminate them, thus ending the threats they represent, why pull back? Why “negotiate?” Especially as it’s been established empirically that Muslims cannot be trusted to honor an agreement with “infidels.”

     War is terrible, but there are things more terrible still. Israel must press on. The time is right.

4 comments

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    • jwm on October 10, 2024 at 8:05 AM

    Ignorance of islam may well be the death of Western civilization. People who, as Ann B says,”Don’t believe in that shit” assume that everyone everywhere holds religion in similar contempt, or just doesn’t take that religion stuff as anything but a silly superstition.

    When your religion tells you to conquer, subjugate, and murder those who don’t accept it, it appeals to the lowest and most deadly instincts of the human animal. When your god says it’s cool to lie, cheat, and kill your enemies, well who can disagree?

     

    JWM

    • NITZAKHON on October 10, 2024 at 9:32 AM

    The Mullahs and Imams openly state their goal is to conquer the whole world for Allah. They say it plainly. This is not just an ISRAEL thing – Bin Laden said so:

    https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2018/03/02/eliminate-israel-eliminate-islamic-terrorism/

    And another piece by the same guy:

    https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2024/10/09/achieving-peace-with-islam-is-impossible/

    Remember the history of Islam – most of its conquests have nothing to do with Israel or Jews, but simply jihad against non-Muslims.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/05/the_greatest_murder_machine_in_history.html

    How this is not clear to everyone with three brain cells that talk with each other is beyond me.

    • NITZAKHON on October 10, 2024 at 9:36 AM

    Oh, and did you see that the Hezbollah chief is calling for a truce?  I.e., a HUDNA.  Which means RELOAD!

    The illusion of peace: Understanding the Islamic concept of hudna | All Israel News

    And:

    Civilizational Conflict – Political Islam

    There are two phases of Islamic jihad, active warfare and hudna. Hudna is not peace because no Mulsim is bound by any treaty of word or paper with a non-Muslim. Treaties between Muslims and kafirs are worth less than the paper that they are printed upon. Mohammed broke treaties, and encouraged lies and deceptions in Jihad and that is exactly what we see today.

    There is no peace with Islam and with Jihad, there is only a temporary pause as the jihadists await better opportunities. For many it is difficult to conceive that this status quo of fighting punctuated by pauses could be a tactic rather than a situational response to political conflict (e.g., Israel-Palestine). Our leaders say that we are not at war because they cannot conceive that this kind of warfare can be real, but it is. This is entirely an ignorance-based position. We are very much at war with Islam but we do not defend ourselves because our leadership has deluded itself into believing that the war is not real.

    • J J on October 10, 2024 at 3:29 PM

    I don’t mind Israel (or any other country) waging war against other countries who have vowed to destroy them.
    I just don’t want to finance their war machine via force confiscation of my income.

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