There are times when pre-emptive military action is the best form of defense.
That was the case last week when Israel launched two airstrikes on Syria, destroying large caches of missiles bound for the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah, which undoubtedly would have used them against Israeli civilians and property.
This was a legitimate act of self-defense by a sovereign state looking to protect its people.
Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, though the world assumes Israel was behind them. The embattled regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad considered the attacks “a declaration of war,” and has threatened reprisals, including allowing Palestinian terrorists to launch attacks along the normally quiet northern border.
None have come so far, and some experts believe they may never come, with Assad’s corrupt regime weakened after two years of civil war.
Israel isn’t taking chances, having moved a pair of Iron Dome batteries to the region in case Assad attempts retaliation.
Israel’s motives were straightforward. The airstrikes were not intended to topple the Syrian regime. They were not an indication, as Assad has claimed, that Israel now sides with the Syrian rebels.
The attacks were meant to reduce the long-range missile threat against Israeli civilians. And not just any missiles. The Syrian armories contained powerful Iranian-made Fateh-110 rockets, capable of hitting any population center in Israel.
Israeli leaders would not have undertaken these strikes had they not been certain their intelligence was accurate. That being the case, taking out these missiles became a military priority.
The May 5 strike was especially deadly, with dozens of Syrian soldiers killed. Loss of life is always regrettable, but we consider the strikes wholly justified. Any other nation facing a similar threat would have done the same.
For all the opprobrium it faces, for all the snubs and threats of boycott or divestment, Israel routinely does the world big favors. It destroyed an Iraqi nuclear site in 1981 and a similar Syrian plant in 2007. It leads the world in drawing a red line when it comes to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
For all this, Israel rarely gets a thank you, but the net effect is a safer world.
There may be more strikes to come, and from other nations as well, especially if Assad brandishes his chemical weapons. The Middle East is a dangerous neighborhood. Israel will act when it must, and though others may not offer thanks, we do.