It
was a surprise to see the Israeli military intelligence service admit surprise over the successful Hizbullah/Iranian
C-102 guided missile attack on their most modern naval ship.
Unfortunately, it is not often a surprise when American intelligence is surprised.
There ought not be any surprise on how radical Islam fights enclave wars. They are the irregular forces of sponsoring
nation-states. These are the principles they follow.
Create an enclave. Whether it is by persuasion in Canada or intimidation in France, radical Islam seeks to create
a neighborhood isolated from their targeted host country. Within the enclaves borders, social services, community
activities, the press, the school and the mosque combine to create a controlled view of everything. In much of
the world, these unassimilated enclaves are financed by Sunni Arab Wahabbi forces. In others, they are funded by
Shia Persian Iranian sources. The strategy is also used by some illegal immigrant groups ambitious to create a
U.S. power base.
Control communications. The enclave citizens must be made dependent and docile. Therefore, material rewards all
come from the local religious leader. Education from birth is a steady stream of invective that creates fear of
demons so powerful that life is hopeless and fanatic religion which relieves the fear. Key tenets drive the Islamic
radicals:
- Non-believers are not human, therefore exempt from human considerations
- Land that was once controlled by Islam should always be in Islamic hands
- There are no man-made decisions. God governs by the Koran and Sharia law.
- The Umma (community of believers) takes precedence over national boundaries
- The church and state are seamlessly one.
- Being eternal, death is more important than life.
- The whole world is called to submit to Allah
The aim of the enclave leaders is to eliminate or modify outside influence at all levels. They want to control
all the thought leaders - schools, houses of worship, media. Formally or informally something like a "Committee
for Right Living" spreads its influence. Gradually all other structures, including the police and courts,
are shoved aside. Finally, a formal request is made of the host country to allow Sharia law to replace local law
at least in part.
Connect Enclaves. Radicalism expands by connecting the dots. Enclaves both grow larger by annexing their
immediate borders and by alliances with other enclaves. The extreme example at the moment is in Lebanon where the
Shia population is about 40 percent of the population. Stronger militarily than the national government, Hizbullah
has created a "state-within-a-state" that has seats in the Parliament, even Cabinet posts, but operates
its own local geographic and political area free of interference from the weak and divided national government.
The southern Lebanon Hizbulla enclave feels free to indulge in acts of war that bring retaliation against the whole
nation. They are, in practice, well-armed, well-trained, violent and unaccountable to their host nation.
Defeat is Victory. It is commonly taught that the umma is so weak and its enemies so strong that sheer survival
is victory. In the long view, survival means that the idea lives for another day. Time is no problem. Radicals
will wait for years if they stay on the path.
This is a doctrine fully adapted to modern asymmetrical war. Every military defeat produces boxes of film documenting
the suffering of the loser and thereby making the loser of the battle triumph in world-wide reaction to pitiable
deaths.
Just how wonderfully confusing to public opinion this "defeat is victory" strategy becomes is the current
debate over "appropriate" levels of military response. (Appropriateness, like beauty, is in the eye of
the beholder.)
Hizbullah maintains a huge and threatening inventory of rockets and missiles. They are stored in and fired from
civilian areas - homes, shops, sheds, schools and mosques. The folks who fire the rockets then run away before
return fires hits them. That practice creates justifiable military targets out of the civil population that have
sheltered the radicals and are left behind when the return fire arrives.
Both the political wing and terror wing of Hizbullah office in the lower levels of apartment buildings. They wear
no uniforms and maintain no identifiable military bases. Their enemies can either choose not to respond to their
attacks or create collateral damage to the civilian people and infrastructure. Destroying their arms is a house-to-house,
boots-on-the-ground effort. Since they wear no identifying marks, Hizbullah members are reported as civilian casualties
and their enemy's military triumph is converted to a world-wide condemnation of civilian casualties.
In just war theory, the radical's tactics would not be acceptable yet the MSM dwells on their opponents, not them.
In the hizballah arsenal, they have both rockets (which have no guidance systems and can't be aimed) and missiles
(which can be aimed). Some 80 plus percent of their 13,000 inventory are rockets which cannot be aimed. Many of
these are loaded with ball bearings (as are suicide bomb belts). These devices, by definition, target civilians.
They are designed to reduce morale rather than create physical damage.
The rockets are fired in clusters towards a general location. The ball bearings act like shotgun pellets, driving
through human flesh indiscriminately. Tactically, quite often a second set of rockets is fired at the same location
a few minutes later in hopes of attacking the dazed crowd plus medical and fire first responders.
The Battlefield Illusion. Let us say, by way of example, that Israel has reduced the inventory of Hizbullah
rockets by 50 percent but none of their military action was filmed. They are, in fact, kept secret. At the same
time, one Hizbullah rocket hits an Israeli outpost and that is filmed. Will the global media report the day as
an Israeli victory or an Israeli loss? The battle is not over rockets. The battle is over the first film delivered.
In the 21st Century battlefield, the more advanced you are, the bigger the potential disadvantage unless you have
competent public relations support.
This coming week, the full power of the forces who want to preserve Hizbullah and deny Israel a victory will swing
into action. Kofi Annan has called for an immediate cease fire and an international buffer force.Such action would,
of course, hand Hizbullah the victory. France has called for a debate over the use of excessive and inappropriate
force. That would, of course, create a refuge for Hizbullah, allowing them to replenish and restore their forces
while the U.N. chats.. As we know from Iraq, Syria has many ways to get supplies across its borders.
So far, the Bush administration has stood firm on allowing Israel the time to destroy the war-making resources
of Hizbullah. Three questions will come to the front this week..
- Will the Sunni Arab nations and the EU continue to be silent?
Is Hizbullah tough enough to fight Israel to a draw?
Is the era of "Peace through Weakness" over?
July 21, 2006
