The slew of anti-Israel apologists bopping around bother me, not because of their position – I can disagree with someone and not be bothered, but because the advocacy against Israel’s actions seem to rest in some errant belief that her enemies are somehow victims. Let’s look at these victims.

Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, was founded in 1988 with the express purpose of destroying Israel. Through democratic elections in the Palestinian Authority, they have been elected to govern. Here’s what they’re about. From the Hamas charter

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it”

That’s from the preamble, and rather straightforward. But what about negotiation?

Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.

Okay, so they’re not big into the idea of a peaceful resolution, either. About the rest of the world

For a long time, the enemies have been planning, skillfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained…. With their money, they took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others. With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world… They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there. With their money they formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests.

Right. So your rotary club is a problem with Hamas. You cannot view this group, and this mindset, as a rational actor. Now for Hizbullah, the Party of God. Jeffrey Goldberg did a great Q&A in The New Yorker magazine in 2002 on the group. Here are some of the highlights

Does Hezbollah have a final goal, a point at which it would be satisfied? For example, certain groups in Ireland want all the Irish counties to be united.

Hezbollah is more ambitious than that. It wants to create in Lebanon an Islamic republic in the style of Iran; it wants to destroy Israel; and it wants to unite the Islamic world under its banner. The word “Hezbollah” means “Party of God,” and its leaders do not think of their membership as Shiite alone. All righteous Muslims, in their formulation, are members of the Party of God.

Not much wiggle room there. And it’s worth noting that Hizbullah is not confined simply to southern Lebanon

Why, in reporting on a Lebanese terrorist group, did you travel to Paraguay? And what did you find there?

Hezbollah, like other Middle Eastern terrorist groups, has sympathizers, financiers, and even terror operatives spread out across the globe. One of the places that Hezbollah is strongest is in the area of South America known as the Triple Frontier, or Tri-Border area, where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. Law enforcement is lax, which, of course, is attractive to terrorists, and there is a large Arab community in Paraguay and Brazil in which to hide. What I found in the Triple Frontier was a very complex and lucrative funding network for Hezbollah, as well as proof that Hezbollah maintained training camps in the area. I also found that two of the worst terrorist attacks in South American history—the attacks in Buenos Aires on the Israeli Embassy and on a Jewish community center—may have been planned in the Triple Frontier.

Let us not forget, this group is also responsible for the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 240 Americans. And Syria isn’t out of the picture. There is more going on here than I think many contemporary critics of Israel are willing to concede. The battle with Hizbullah (or Hezbollah – it’s a bit like that dictator in Libya) extends beyond the people of Lebanon. The alternative to letting Israel weaken their position in Lebanon is to empower Iran and Syria in the region. I truly cannot imagine that anyone wants to see that.