U.S. GENERAL AND FLAG OFFICERS IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL

JINSA

Flag and General Officers

Statement on

Israeli-Hezbollah Fighting

July 30, 2006

JINSA
1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW
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202-667-3900
202-667-0601 Fax

August 1, 2006

JINSA Flag and General Officers Statement on Israeli-Hezbollah Fighting

We, the undersigned, believe that Israel's military operation to remove Hezballah from southern Lebanon is a correct and legitimate response to the creation of an armed force accountable to Syria and Iran residing within the boundaries of Lebanon and using Lebanese territory to engage in cross-border warfare. Israel voluntarily withdrew completely from Lebanese territory in 2000 under the terms of UN Resolution 1559, but the Government of Lebanon was unable or unwilling to assert its sovereignty in the area Israel vacated.

We believe further that the IDF has taken care to focus its response so as to minimize civilian casualties among the Lebanese, even as Hezballah indiscriminately rockets Israeli towns and cities. It has become increasingly clear that Hezballah took advantage of Lebanon's weakness to hide its forces and its weapons in the south of Lebanon and its command and control capabilities in Beirut, within the civilian population. This ensured that any Israeli response would create civilian casualties that would dominate the international media.

The relatively few Israeli casualties in the face of widespread rocket and missiles attacks appear to be the result of an active civil defense system in Israel, not humanitarian concern by Hezballah.

We have traveled to Israel over the years with The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). We brought with us our decades of military experience and came away with the unswerving belief that the security of the State of Israel is a matter of great importance to U.S. policy in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. A strong Israel is an asset upon which American military planners and political leaders can rely. Israel shares our commitment to democracy, freedom, personal liberty and rule of law.

As American defense professionals, we view events in the Middle East through the prism of American security interests, in which regard we make two points:

First, the problem of militias and non-state actors operating in sovereign country is precisely the same as that faced by American and coalition forces in Iraq. The militias and foreign fighters facing our troops are also supported by Iran and Syria.

Second, we have a particular interest in the demise of Hezballah. Until September 11, 2001, Hezballah was the terrorist organization responsible for more American deaths than any other, including 241 American servicemen in the Beirut barracks bombing and 17 Americans in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. We have not forgotten William Buckley, Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem and Lt. Col. William (Rich) Higgins, USMC.

We believe strongly that any cease-fire must be accompanied by a determined international military effort to assist Lebanon in rooting out the armed remnants of Hezbollah and ensuring that the Lebanese Army is the controlling armed force in the south. Anything less would be a prescription for renewed fighting at the time of Hezbollah's choosing.

Throughout our travels and our talks, the determination of Israelis to protect their country and to pursue a fair and workable peace with their neighbors was clear. Thus, we view the current conflict in and around Israel with great dismay. America's responsibility as a friend to Israel -- and to Lebanon -- should strengthen our country's resolve to assist and support Israel in its efforts to dislodge Hezballah's military capabilities from southern Lebanon and work with the international community to ensure that the Lebanese Army is deployed to the international border in a manner that protects both countries.

(Signed as of 30 July 2006)

1. RA Fred Ames, USCG (Ret.) --Assistant Commandant for Human Resources*

2. RA Charles Beers, USN (ret.) -- Commander, Submarine Group Ten

3. LG Walter E. (Buck) Buchanan III, USAF (ret.) -- Commander, 9th Air Force and U.S.
Central Command Air Forces

4. LG Anthony Burshnick, USAF (ret.) -- Vice Commander-in-Chief, Military Airlift Command

5. General J.B. Davis, USAF (ret.) -- Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe (NATO)

6. LG Joseph DeFrancisco, USA (ret.) -- Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff, U.S. Pacific Command

7. Admiral Leon Edney, USN (ret.) -- Commander in Chief, Allied Forces NATO

8. MG Bobby O. Floyd, USAF (ret.) Director of Logistics, Air Mobility Command

9. MG Paul Fratarangelo, USMC (ret.) Commander, Marine Corps Air Bases, Western Area

10. MG David Grange, USA (ret.) -- Commander, Task Force Eagle (Bosnia) and Task Force, Kosovo.

11. LG Earl Hailston, USMC (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific/Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command/ Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific/Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Bases, Pacific

12. LG John Hall, USAF (ret.) -- Commander of U.S. Forces, Japan and Commander, 5th Air Force

13. Admiral Jerome Johnson, USN (ret.) -- Vice Chief of Naval Operations

14. VA Anthony Less, USN (ret.) -- Commander, Naval Air Forces, US Atlantic Fleet

15. MG Jarvis Lynch, USMC (ret.) -- Commander, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region.

16. VA Bernard Kauderer, USN (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Submarine Forces

17. LG Charles May, Jr., USAF (ret.) -- Vice Chief of Staff, USAF

18. VA Paul McCarthy, USN (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet

19. LG James C. McCombs, USAF (ret.) -- Deputy Commander in Chief, US Special
Operations Command

20. LG Fred McCorkle, USMC (ret.) -- Deputy Commandant for Aviation MG

21. R. Adm. Riley Mixson, USN (ret.) -- Director of Air Warfare

22. MG William C. Moore, USA (ret.) -- Director of Operations & Plans

23. LG Carol Mutter, USMC (ret.) -- Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Reserve Affairs

24. LG Garry Parks, USMC (ret.) -- Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs

25. MG Robert Patterson, USAF (ret.) -- Commander, Special Operations Command & Commanding General 23rd Air Force

26. V. Adm. James Perkins, USN (ret.) -- Commander, Military Sealift Command

27. RA Richard Rybacki, USCG (ret.) -- Commander, First Coast Guard District

28. General Crosbie Saint, USA (ret.) -- Commander-in-Chief, US Army Europe and Seventh Army

29. RA Norman Saunders, USCG (ret.) -- Commander, 7th Coast Guard District

30. MG Sidney Shachnow, USA (ret.) -- Commanding General, JFK Special Warfare Center and School at Ft. Bragg

31. General Lawrence Skantze, USAF (ret.) -- Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force

32. Gen. Donn A. Starry, USA (ret.) -- Commanding General, U.S. Army Readiness Command
33. Admiral Jerome Tuttle, USN (ret.) -- Director, Space & Electronic Warfare

34. Gen. Louis C. Wagner, Jr., USA (ret.) -- Commander, U.S. Army Materiel Command

35. RA Guy Zeller, USN (ret.) -- Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla Three/Commander Battle Group Foxtrot

* Last Command noted for purposes of identification only.

JINSA Online, August 01, 2006
Source: http://www.jinsa.org/articles/view.html?documentid=3485