Israel’s Inalienable Right

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s recent announcement that he will strike back if Iraq attacks Israel marks a major shift in Israeli thinking since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld has spoken out against the policy change, saying that it would be in Israel’s best interests not to get involved. But Israel is a sovereign nation; it unquestionably has the right to defend itself from an Iraqi strike.

During the Gulf War, when 39 Iraqi Scud missiles struck Israel, the state was pressured by former President George H.W. Bush’s administration not to retaliate. The U.S. feared that if Israel joined the conflict, Arab nations that were members of the coalition against Iraq would back out. But today, Israel has vowed to react—and with good reason.

The prime minister’s position reflects a widespread belief among Israelis that Arab leaders perceived Israel’s restraint in 1991 as a weakness that undermined its ability to prevent enemy strikes. Saddam attacked Israel precisely because he knew it would not fight back. Miraculously, the Scuds that hit Tel Aviv directly killed only two Israelis, but Israel cannot depend on luck again—not when there are growing suspicions that Israel will be Saddam’s first target with his developing stockpile of biological and chemical weapons.

It makes eminent sense for Israel to announce now that it will strike back—to do otherwise would only encourage Iraq to attack. But if that is not sufficient to deter Saddam Hussein from attacking, then the U.S. should support Israel’s right to a retaliatory strike if necessary. Again, as in 1991, the Bush administration’s main concern is that retaliation would harm the coalition for war against Iraq. It would not only inflame Arab-Israeli tensions, but it also could prevent the U.S. military from gaining the cooperation it needs from Arab states in order to base American forces there.

As a result, America has tried to mollify Israeli fears by developing military plans that would include intensive campaigns to destroy missile launchers in western Iraq and to give Israel adequate warning of any Scud launchings. These plans are crucial to protecting Israel against the threat of Iraq but the administration must also recognize that Israel still has the unquestionable right to respond to outside threats. Americans should remember that Israel, in an act of self-preservation, saved innumerable lives when Prime Minister Menachem Begin launched an air strike called Operation Babylon against an Iraqi nuclear plant in June 1981. The U.S., which condemned Operation Babylon when it occurred, reversed course after the Gulf War and praised Israel for its forward-looking action. Luckily for the U.S., Israel did not rely on American promises of protection but instead acted independently to push back Saddam’s nuclear plans by more than a decade.

As the U.S. prepares to go to war in Iraq, it must also keep in mind that Israel is the only modern, democratic nation in the Middle East. Instead of pressuring Israel to stay out of the conflict when it is irrevocably a part of it, the U.S. should work collaboratively with Israel towards the ultimate goal of defeating Saddam Hussein.